The Son of the Moon
by Guardian of Olympus
Summary: You know the names from the New Titan and New Giant Wars. Great stories and heroic deeds perfomed by powerful demigods. Well, as it always is, a new adventure rears its head to challenge the most unexpected demigod. That would be me. Crack this story open and look inside to see what makes me so unusually - or not. Totally up to you.
1. Chapter 1: How am I possible?

You've all heard the stories from the New Titan War and the New Giant War, right? You know the famous names like Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang and Leo Valdez and how they defeated the Titans and the children of the earth mother Gaia. They were pretty incredible. My sisters told me stories about the events as they happened and my mom kept me up to date as well. She always told me, "One day, you will be just as famous as they are."

Now when she said it, she did so with pride but also with sorrow. Now I'm a smart kid. I knew she knew something about my future - something she wasn't telling me. It made sense because Apollo, the god of foresight, is her brother so she probably went to the Oracle of Delphi to get a prophecy. If her attitude was any evidence, I tend to think she got one.

Anyhow, I'm sure you guessed it by now and are probably thinking 'what the Hades?' and 'how did that happen?'

Well, first of all, let me just get this out in the open and introduce myself. My name is Arthur Price and I'm a son of Artemis and a mortal named Scout Price. Go ahead, ask me how. My answer is this: how does Athena have kids? No, seriously, how does she if she's still a maiden and all? I was always a little curious about that. Anyhow, the way my dad told it and my mom tells it is that my dad was a war veteran who was injured during his last tour of duty. A shrapnel injury rendered him unable to... uh... have relations and have kids. When he got home, he moved to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and lived off the land. He didn't have a TV and only got news when he went to a nearby small town. From what I understand, he was always a great hunter. No, seriously, I'm not talking about sitting in a tree stand with snacks and an Ipod and waiting for a deer to mosey on by. He went into the mountains, tracked down his pray and killed it the old fashioned way. Apparently, one day, he fell down a cliff and was injured. Thinking that he was going to die, he called out for help.

Now, if you know my mom, you'd realize that, for the most part, she doesn't care for men. I know, I know - that's a royal understatement. But something about my dad made her decide to help him. Artemis brought him back to his cabin and helped him heal. I don't know the specifics but I do know that my dad was one of those rare mortals who can see through the Mist - magic that makes most mortals oblivious to the monsters and such that exist out in the world. Anyhow, my mom left and, after every successful hunt, he would sacrifice the best part of it to Artemis. Every now and again, Artemis would visit him and they would talk about hunting and tracking and all that cool stuff.

One night, during a huge full moon while he was hunting, my dad saw her and realized that he had fallen in love with her. That made him ashamed since, well, he couldn't... well, never mind. You get the idea. When she visited him next, she noticed that he was depressed and nervous all at the same time, fumbling around like a school boy near his crush. Long and the short, she was able to figure out that my dad was in love with her. At first, Artemis was a little mad at him and she left but then, she remembered that he couldn't do anything about it. It was something she had really never experienced before - a man who had fallen in love with her and would never do anything about it.

When my mom visited him again, she had a serious talk with him about his feelings. I can just imagine my dad with his head down and fidgeting in his seat while they talked. To her own surprise, Artemis found that she really, really liked him. Love, I don't know about, she had kinda sworn off that sort of thing millennia ago. One day, my mom walked into my dad's cabin and saw him just gazing out the window and with tears in his eyes. "What's wrong, Scout?"

He was startled and wiped his eyes before saying, "Oh, I just got a card from my cousins. They're pregnant - again."

It didn't take a goddess to figure out why that depressed him. Chewing her lip, she said, "I'm sorry. I can't imagine how hard that must be."

She managed to cheer him up and they went hunting together like they always did when she visited. They hunted brown and grizzly bear. They hunted wild boar and elk. As always, he gave all the best of the meat to Artemis. Suddenly, when they got back to the cabin, a guy in a UPS or Mailman uniform of some kind appeared, "Artemis, Zeus needs us - all of us, right now."

She turned to my dad and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry about this. I'll come back as soon as I can."

My dad and mom never told me what was so urgent or what it was about. However, they did tell me that, when she got back to my dad, she had good news. "Scout, I have some good news for you. I asked my dad and step-mother if there was some way that I could give you a child and still be a maiden. It took some convincing but they eventually said yes. This is what we'll need to do: go out and shoot a young deer, a yearling and bring it back here."

My dad did as she said but it made him sad. He hated killing baby animals. He loved all animals but also understood how nature worked. Sometimes, something had to die so that another animal or person can continue to live. Anyhow, long and the short, he brought back the yearling. Despite himself, my dad was almost in tears again and, when he brought the yearling to my mom, she was apparently heartbroken too. Artemis skinned it and divided up its meat. Why did they have to do all this? I dunno. Anyway, once the whole thing was divided up, Artemis and my dad had to prick their skin and dribble blood and golden ichor onto it before they threw it into the fire. When it was all burned up, the fire suddenly died and, in the now cold ashes, lay a tiny baby boy. That was me. Yeah, I know; it's weird. I'm a combination of blood, ichor and deer meat ashes.

Anyhow, I grew up with my dad until I was six and they were the happiest years of his life. But my dad died on a hunt when I turned six and my mom came and picked me up. From then on, I was raised with the Hunters of Artemis. When I turned fifteen, my mom took me on a hunt with her, just her and me. During that hunt, she explained that I needed to go to a place that was safe for demigods. She told me about a place in New York called Camp Half-Blood. I understood and she said that, the day after we got back from our hunt, she and her hunters would take me there. Well, being the clever young man I was, I decided that I would strike out on my own and go to Camp Half-blood.

I was a little mad that my mom had hidden this place from me I guess because I felt lonely a lot of the time. I mean, sure the Hunters were cool. I think of them as my sisters. Zoe Nightshade was my amazing older sister but they didn't let me have guy friends. They kept saying that, aside from me of course, guys were jerks.

Anyhow, I ran off before the rest of the camp was awake, carrying my recurved longbow, my hunting knife, my tomahawk (which had belonged to my dad) and just a few other things that the Hunters carried. It was a crazy trip too. I kept getting into fights with monsters. I killed a couple of really angry boars in Nebraska, a snowy white Cretan bull in Iowa, a Hydra in Illinois, a dragon in Indiana and the Nemean Lion in Ohio. There were a couple of Cyclopes and giants too but, eventually, I made it to Camp Half-Blood. I guess that's where my story really begins.

* * *

It was about ten a.m. and I was starving when I entered the camp. Though I rarely thought about it, I probably looked ridiculous. I was in the silvery-gray garb of a hunter but over it, I wore the Nemean lion skin. My bow carrier, quiver, belt and boots were made of the white leather of the Cretan bull.

As I approached the cluster cabins and the big, three story house, kids and teenagers stopped what they were doing and looked at me curiously. I felt a little self conscious, though I tried not to show it. Just as I got to the porch of the house, a Centaur - half man, half horse, stepped out. Behind him was a big, fat guy who I knew immediately. I bowed my head and said by way of greeting, "Chiron, Lord Dionysus; my name is Arthur Price and I'm a demigod."

"Obviously, or else you wouldn't be able to enter the camp's borders;" said the god gruffly. He snapped his fingers and a diet coke materialized in his hands. "So, young Andrew Prince, who is your godly parent? Let's get all of that out of the way so we can toss you into a cabin and begin your introduction and all that."

I chewed my lip for a moment before saying, "My - uh, godly parent will be by in a day or two and, if it's all the same to you, I think they should claim me."

Dionysus's watery eyes widened and he said, "Indeed? So you know who they are but you won't reveal it."

"Uh, Mister D," said Chiron carefully, "I think we should accept this. If this young man is the child of who I think he's the child of, it would be for the best in the end."

"If you say so;" said Mister D with an obvious lack of interest. "Anyhow, put him in the Hermes cabin for now and..."

Suddenly, a feminine came from behind me. "Mr. D, Chiron, who is this?"

I turned and behind me stood a pretty girl with curly red hair, jeans and an orange Camp-Halfblood t-shirt. "Ah, Rachel, my dear - this is Arthur Price. He's a new camper. Would you be so kind as to show him to the Hermes cabin, please?"

She nodded and I followed her. "We'll stop by the camp store and grab you some stuff you might need."

I shrugged, "Thanks but I have everything here in my duffel bag. Though, I suppose I should get one of those Camp Half-blood t-shirts at some point. So..." and there was a short silence before I asked, "what cabin are you in?"

Rachel smiled and said, "Oh, I'm not technically a camper. I'm not a demigod at all. I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the Oracle of Delphi."

My eyes widened. "Wow... that's pretty cool. My mom told me a little about Oracles. So you can see the future, right?"

Rachel nodded. "Yup though not consistently; Lord Apollo just freed the Oracles from the control of- you know what? It's a really long story. Suffice to say that prophecies come to me on their own time. So, you said your mom told you about Oracles? Who is she?"

I suddenly realized that I had slipped up slightly. "Um... Forget I said that. I'm gonna wait until my mo- um, my parent claims me."

She laughed and said, "Well your secret is safe with me, Arthur. Anyhow, here we are - Cabin 11."

She knocked on the door. Immediately, two kids who looked like twins opened up and grinned broadly. "Hey Rach; who's the pretty boy?"

"Pretty boy?" I demanded, slightly miffed at the description. "Travis!" said Rachel indignantly. "This is Arthur Price. He hasn't been claimed yet. Set him up on a bunk and- oh heck, you know the drill."

Travis nodded and said, "Yup, sure do. Come on in, Art. You don't mind if I call you Art, do you?"

It didn't really bother me and I said so. They brought me to a bunk with a sea chest at the foot of it. I neatly stored away my belongings, all but my weapons of course, and changed into a pair of jeans and, once they got me one, an orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt that was a size too big. The first think I did was cut the sleeves off. Like my moms, my hair is light brown and my eyes are silver-gray. The rest of my features were my dads. Anyhow, just to be careful, I locked up my sea chest and set a trap to it to make sure that no one messed with it. That done, I left the cabin.

It was a glorious day outside, warm for a early summer day in New York. I looked around my new home, please with what I saw. There was an archery range, stables, an amphitheatre, a canoe lake and all kinds of other stuff. Suddenly, I heard the clop of hooves headed my way. Instinctively, I reached for my bow but stopped myself, knowing that I was perfectly safe. The Centaur Chiron galloped up with patronly smile. "I'm glad to see you're all settled in, my boy. Why don't we head over to the archery range, see how good you are with that bow?"

I grinned, all too eager to show just how good I was. There were quite a few other campers. One of them, obviously the one running the archery range, smiled and said, "Hey, I'm Will Solace, son of Apollo. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."

"Nice to meet you, Will. My name is Arthur Price."

He waited for a moment for me to mention my godly parent but when I didn't, he asked, "Need any help with your archery skills?"

Unable to keep the grin from my face, I unslung and strung my bow, saying as I did, "Not sure; why don't you tell me?"

Quickly, I fired arrows until my quiver was empty and the target's bullseye was completely gone. Will and Chiron were both stunned and I headed towards the target, whistling cheerfully as I went. "Oh. my. gods." came a voice from behind me. Turning, I saw a very pretty girl staring at me. I blushed slightly and smiled before pulling my arrows out and walking back. "Well, it's safe to say you don't need any help with your archery. I bet you're a son of Apollo, too"

I shrugged, not saying anything. The pretty girl came up to me, batting long eyelashes. "Hello there. My name's Drew Tanaka and I'm from the Aphrodite Cabin. What's your name, Sweetie?"

I immediately began to stutter and said, "Ar-Arthur Price; n-nice to meet you."

Drew giggled. "Aww! You're so sweet! Since you don't need archery lessons, why don't you and I hang out until the rest of the campers get here?"

I was about to say that I thought it sounded great but then, someone said, "Hello, Drew; how's my cabin doing?"

We both turned and there stood two older kids, a tall, buff looking dude with blond hair and a golden sword on his hip and a very pretty girl of medium height with brown hair and a sword on hers as well. Again, my mouth fell open but, judging by how her arm was laced in his, I closed it and cleared my throat. Drew looked angry and said coolly, "Hello, Piper. How was your school year?"

"Fine, thank you;" she said before stepping forward and proffering her hand. "Hi there; I'm Piper McLean, head counselor of the Aphrodite cabin. This is my boyfriend."

The buff blond kid proffered his hand and said, "Jason Grace son of Jupiter - or Zeus to use his Greek name. Nice to meet you;"

I smiled at them both. They were friendly enough. "I'm Arthur Price and I'm waiting for my godly parent to claim me still."

It wasn't exactly a lie. I mean, I was waiting for it but that didn't mean I didn't know who it was. Piper grimaced and said, "Well I promise it will be better than my claiming experience. My mom gave me a godly makeover."

"I liked it;" mention Jason and she elbowed him playfully. I couldn't help but blush slightly and say, "I have to say that it's really cool to meet you two. You know, because your two of the seven demigods who saved the world and all that."

Piper blushed and Jason just waved it away. "Well it wasn't just us; you'll meet the other five before the end of the day. We gotta go. Talk to you later, Arthur. Welcome to camp."

I watched them go, still blushing slightly. I looked back towards Drew, who looked utterly disgusted. "What?" I asked innocently. She just snorted and walked away, her nose almost literally in the air. "Wow..." I muttered, "I'm here for an hour and I'm already kicked to the curb by a pretty girl."

"Trust me, buddy;" said Will Solace, "you don't want to get mixed up with Drew. She's a real piece of work. It's her goal to break as many hearts as she can in this camp."

I chuckled. From what I understand about the goddess Aphrodite, it was like mother like daughter. Chiron cleared his throat and said, "Well it's almost lunch time. Let's go, everyone."

We all went to a lunch pavilion and each cabin also had their own table. Jason Grace was sitting alone at the Zeus table. Looking around, I noticed that all of the tables except two had more than one person at it. The Hermes table had quite a few, as did the Apollo table and the Aphrodite table. However, two only had one person each sitting at theirs. One was the Zues table and the other, I found out by asking Will, was the Hades table. It was occupied by only one person - a kid in black jeans and a black bomber jacket. He looked gloomy and brooding but Will kept glancing at him and shooting him smiles and friendly winks.

I chuckled. Suddenly, Chiron clopped his hooves loudly and said, "Alright, Campers; we have two new campers to welcome. Please welcome Arthur Price - stand up please, Arthur;" and I did, "and Sarah Bertelly - stand up please dear."

Across from me and a little further down the table stood a girl about my age. She was as tall as I was with straight red hair and a spattering of cute little freckles. She was really pretty. I stopped myself staring just before she looked at me. When I looked back at her, I noticed her eyes were green and she had what appeared to be a challenging look in her eyes. What was that about anyway? Chiron continued. "Please make them feel welcome. I'm sure they will be great additions to capture the flag tomorrow."

There was a cheer and I grinned. My mom's lieutenant Thalia Grace - wait a second, didn't that Jason kid say his name was Jason Grace. I wonder if they're related. Anyway, Thalia said that capture the flag was a full contact sport here. We all sat down and out of nowhere, plates appeared. "Sooo... how does this work? My plate's empty."

Travis Stole winked and said, "Watch this, dude."

He looked at his plate and glass and suddenly, a steak, mash potatoes and broccoli just appeared in the blink of an eye. In his glass, cola of some kind suddenly appeared. "Woah!" I said. He nodded. "Cool, right? Just think about what you want. Oh, and don't forget to sacrifice to the gods before you eat. Just dump a portion of your meal into the brazier over there."

I looked down at my plate and thought really hard. A bison burger, sweet potato fries and asparagus. I grinned and then looked hard at my glass. It filled with vanilla cream soda and I was psyched. Hastily, I cut the burger in half - it was massive so I knew I wouldn't be able to eat all of it, and went over to the brazier. With a quick prayer to my mom, I dumped half the burger, a few fries and some of the asparagus into the flames. I caught just a wiff of the most pleasant fragrance I've ever smelled before going back to my seat and eagerly digging in.

It was a really good time. We all joked and ate and laughed and such before cleaning up and heading back to activities. Chiron grabbed me and Sarah Bertelly. "I think that you should stay with me for the day. I'll show you around a little more."

The remainder of the day was spent pleasantly, checking everything the camp had going on. We saw the fighting arena wear warriors trained with spears, swords, axes and shields. There was the climbing wall, which also had a lava fountain apparently. The canoe lake was nice and the Naiads were really nice, batting their eye lashes and giggling. My mom had told me about them and I had run into a few during the trip here. I just smiled and said thanks before we moved on.

The last thing that Chiron told us about was the great pine tree, the one that I assumed used to be Thalia Grace, the golden fleece of course and the dragon that was guarding them. Also, the Athena Parthenos stood not far away, keeping endless watch for the Greek demigods and their camp. By that time, the sun was beginning to set and it was almost dinner time. Chiron led us back to the pavilion as everyone else was arriving. Jason and Piper were hugging and backslapping six other kids before pointing us out. The whole group came over and introduced themselves. The first was a kid with black hair and blue eyes. "Hi. My names Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon; welcome to camp. You'll both love it here."

Beside him was a beautiful blond girl with stormy gray eyes. "I'm Annabeth Chase, Daughter of Athena. Welcome. If you need anything, come and find us. We'll help you out."

I was getting overwhelmed but two more kids stepped up. One was a huge Asian dude with black hair. With a grin, he said, "I'm Frank Zhang, son of Mars - the Roman version of Ares. Good to meet you. This is my girlfriend."

She was dark skinned and gorgeous; were all female demigods so hot like ones I had met so far? "I'm Hazel Levesque, Daughter of Pluto. Well, I guess here, they call him Hades."

I was totally geeking out. This was all seven of the heroes from the Titan war. The last two was a short little Hispanic kid and a drop dead gorgeous girl, both looking to be about sixteen. "Hola!" said the guy. "Names Leo Valdez, me padre is Hephaestus. Most people around here the Bad Boy Supreme and OUCH! Caly!"

The girl who had just elbowed him gave him a severe look and then smiled at me. "Ignore my boyfriend and his inflated ego. I'm Calypso, Daughter of Atlas."

That froze me. "Atlas - like, the Titan Atlas?" but then I blushed, feeling ashamed. She did too and looked down. Immediately, I apologized. "I'm sorry. That was rude. It's a pleasure to meet you - all of you. I'm Arthur Price and I haven't been claimed yet."

Sarah Bertelly introduced herself too but apparently hadn't heard of them before - which made sense. She was raised in the world of gods, demigods and monsters so why would she have? I on the other hand was losing my mind with excitement. I tried hard not to sound like a fan girl but I doubted I did very well. These guys and girls were just so awesome! Chiron was laughing as we got to the pavilion. It was the same drill as last time; wish your food onto your plate, sacrifice a portion to the gods and ate our fill. After that, we headed to the amphitheatre. There was a massive bonfire and we sang camp songs and told stories. To my surprise, Sarah stood and began to tell a story. I sure wasn't going to stand up. She told a story about a woman who pretended to be a man in ancient China. It sounded really familiar until I realized that she was re-telling Mulan. It must have been the real story and not the child friendly version Disney came up with.

Suddenly, as she finished her story, a hot wind blew and above her, the symbol of a boar appeared - the symbol of the war god Ares. Chiron looked serious as he said, "All hail Sarah Bertelly, Daughter of Ares."

We all bowed and I immediately felt myself being just slightly intimidated. This gorgeous red head was the daughter of the war god. She looked at me and gave a smirk. Why the heck was she looking at me? I was nobody. Quickly, she went and sat among her siblings. The head of the Ares cabin, Clarisse La Rue welcomed her with a hefty back slap. Suddenly, Percy Jackson, who was sitting in the row behind me, leaned forward and said, "Don't worry buddy; I'm sure your godly parent will claim you soon enough. Will Solace told me you were a heck of an archer."

I blushed and smiled. It was nice to be recognized, especially by one of the seven heroes. After awhile, I looked up and saw the full moon. It made me feel really restless so I got up and left shortly after Sarah's story. Chiron gave me a knowing look but didn't say anything.

It was nice to wander the camp in the bright glow of the full moon. It was so invigorating and I felt like laughing, wanting to just run out into the woods. Just before I took off, someone said behind me. "Hey, Arthur. You okay?"

I turned and saw seven heroes and Calypso looking at me with concern. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just the full moon. It makes me feel restless and energized. That's all."

I was almost giddy. However, they still looked skeptical. Unable to stay still and wanting to just run, I said, "Come here, I need to tell you something but you can't tell anyone - not until my mom gets here. Promise on the River Styx you won't say a word."

They all did if slightly hesitantly. "Now, don't freak out but my mom is Artemis, goddess of the hunt and the moon. That's why I'm so hyper right now."

All of them were wide eyed and stunned into silence. Finally, Annabeth said, "I mean, I know my mom managed to be a maiden goddess but how the Hades did that happen?"

I blushed and couldn't help but ask, "How did _you_ and _your_ siblings happen?"

Immediately, I felt a little guilty. "I'm sorry, that was rude. It's a bit of a story but, like Athena, she's still a maiden goddess. Anyhow, she'll be here tomorrow and or the day after and you'll know that I'm telling the truth."

They all nodded skeptically. After a short pause, Piper asked, "So, what are you up to?"

Unable to help myself, I laughed and said, "I'm going for a run! Percy, how does it feel when you get into the water, especially salt water?"

He grinned and nodded knowingly. With a laugh, I took off, yelling over my shoulders, "Tell Chiron that I'll be back by curfew!"

To my surprised, they all laughed and followed, bolting after me like they were trying to catch up. I slowed until the group was with me and we pelted into the woods. Chiron had told me that there were monsters in there but I didn't care. I was armed and I had eight friends with me. I dared, I DARED any monster to challenge me right then and there as I vaulted fallen logs and hurtled rocks, whooping like a mad man.

We ran up back to the cabins, exhausted and satisfied and said good night, closing the doors behind us just as curfew was supposed to begin. With a big grin on my face, I went over to my bunk, changed into something to sleep in. With a sigh, I plopped down and immediately fell asleep.

* * *

The following morning, I felt fresh and energized, like I had drank a big cup of coffee without the jitters or the inevitable crash. With a big grin, I jumped up and got into a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt. It was a little tight but that couldn't be help. Using a bow like mine, most shirts were a little tight.

You see, using an old-school longbow, especially one that was recurved like mine, took a ton of upper body strength and I had been using a bow since I was five. Each time I outgrew one, I made another or my mom gave me one. My current one was actually a gift from my uncle Apollo. I headed towards the pavilion but before I got there, I saw a big group of silver clad women coming. It was the hunters and, despite the fact that I knew I was probably in huge trouble, I ran to meet them. Seeing me, they all gasped and ran towards me. It was the biggest group hug I've ever gotten as my thirty sisters mobbed me, all of them yelling at me for running away as they did. Thalia was the one who was nearly crushing my ribs. "What were you thinking, you idiot? Lady Artemis was worried sick! She's going to kill you or worse, turn you into a jackalope!"

I couldn't help but chuckle. My mom did enjoy turning people, and by people I mean boys, into jackalopes. The whole of the camp was watching now with interest, including Chiron and Mister D. I watched nervously as the Hunters parted and my mom walked up to me. She wasn't in her usually twelve year old girl form. Instead, she looked like she was at least in her late twenties and was almost as tall as my six foot, six inches. I readied myself for a lecture but, instead, she just asked, "Are you alright, Arthur?"

"I'm fine, Lady Artemis;" I said, bowing my head. She nodded, like she wasn't surprised and then hugged me. Looking around, she announced so that everyone could hear. "I claim Arthur Price. He is my son."

As they had for Sarah the night before, all the campers bowed and Chiron said, "All hail Arthur Price, son of Artemis."

He and Mister D were the only ones who didn't seem surprised. After the campers stood, a long silence followed until Artemis turned to the Hunters. "Girls, go to breakfast. Thalia, please gather Arthur's belongings from Cabin 11 and bring them to Cabin 8. Arthur, go with Thalia. Come to the breakfast pavilion when you're done."

I nodded and Thalia grabbed my hand. As soon as we were out of earshot, she started lecturing me again. "Lady Artemis might not be mad at you, but I still am. What were you thinking?"

I threw an arm around her and smiled, "Oh come on, Thals; you and mom taught me everything I know except for the basics of how to use a bow. Surely you didn't think I would die, do you?"

She 'hmphed; and tried to hide a smile but I knew her anger was going away. That was good. She used to use her spear to give me little static shocks when I was little. "Just because you can handle yourself like a champ doesn't mean that me and the other didn't worry like crazy about you."

I sighed and said, "I know and I'm sorry. I didn't think of that until I had reached Nebraska already. I'll make it up to all of you, I promise."

"You'd better, Moonboy!" she said, unable to keep from laughing and elbowing me in the ribs lightly. "Moonboy?" I said in mock anger. We laughed and gathered my stuff from the Hermes cabin. No one had messed with it. The Artemis Cabin, my new home, was fully furnished and looked like it had been lived in before. "The hunters use it whenever we're here;" Thalia explained. I shrugged and found an unused bunk, putting my stuff away again. It was a nice cabin. That done, we headed back out. The seven heroes plus Calypso were waiting. With a broad grin, Thalia hugged each of them. When she hugged Jason, my suspicions were confirmed when he chortled, "Hey, little sis. How are you?"

She punched his shoulder. "Hey, I'm older than you!" she objected but he shook his head. "You would be if you hadn't been a pine tree for a few years and then gone and joined the hunters."

"Have you been nice to my little brother?" she demanded, indicating me. I chuckled and said, "Yup. They all gave me a very warm welcome, Thals. Come on. Let's go eat. I'm absolutely starving."


	2. Chapter 2: Capture the Flag

"So explain capture the flag to me;" I said to Thalia. "It's simple; the only rules are no killing or maiming and stay within the boundaries. Chiron will give us any details. The goal is to capture the other team's banner."

The hunters were filling their quivers with non-lethal arrows like low grade taser arrows, blunted arrows that knock people on their butts, signal arrows and smoke screen arrows. Thalia handed me a spear and a light round shield. The spear was pretty cool. It wasn't like hers, which gave electrical shocks. The one she gave me was also magical. I spun it and it collapsed to a harmonica. With a grin, I played a short little tune before stowing it in a pocket and putting my shield on my back. "I'll be right back, Thals."

Quickly, I hustled over to the Cabin 8 and grabbed a canteen of Moonwater, some ambrosia and a hooded duster that would shift and change with my surroundings like a chameleon. When I had what I wanted, I ran back to the hunters, grinning broadly. "Right, so what's the plan?"

It was then that I noticed the Chiron and Artemis were talking to Thalia. She looked a little sheepish and unhappy. Taking my arm, she pulled me to the side. "Artemis and Chiron just told me; you have to fight with the demigods."

I was crestfallen. "Why?" I asked quietly. She smiled and said, "Because you are one. You're a camper here now, not a hunter - at least not technically."

I felt suddenly rejected - not by Thalia, she was just following my mom's orders. I couldn't help but look sharply over at my mom before turning back to Thalia. "But that's not fair. You're all like my sisters! I can't fight against you!"

She smiled and reached up. As I always did, I lowered my head and let her ruffle my hair. "It's okay, Arty; we still are your sisters, alright? But Artemis has a point; you _do_ need to get used to fighting with other demigods and what better way than in a controlled setting like this."

We were both quiet for a second and she grinned. "It's okay; you can still keep the spear and shield."

That made me grin and I hugged her before shooting one last hurt glare at my mom and running over to the Camp Half-blood demigods. Percy Jackson gave me a confused look. I shrugged uncomfortably. "Mom says that I'm on your team now."

He nodded. "I see; well it does make sense, Arthur. Welcome to the team. Come on, the cabin leaders are holding a council of war. Being the only member of the Artemis cabin, you should join us."

It was a pretty big group, unsurprising considering the number of gods. I recognized Jason, Leo, Annabeth, Piper, Will and Clarisse but introductions were necessary. When that was out of the way, they all looked at Annabeth. "What's the plan, Wisegirl?" asked Clarisse. Annabeth had this calculated look in her eyes and I could tell she was coming up with a plan. "I think that Ares and Apollo will be our offensive group and Athena and Hephaestus will head up the defense. We have four children of the big three so two on defense and two on offense. Jason, you and Nico will take offense. Hermes should go with the offense as well since they are fast and sneaky. They can scout out the best route to advance."

Everyone was nodding. Piper lifted a hand. "That puts a lot of heavy hitters on offense."

Clarisse grinned wickedly and said, "That's how it should be, Beauty Queen. The best defense is a good offense."

Piper rolled her eyes and Annabeth continued. "Demeter, Dionysus and Aphrodite will be on defense."

There were winces obvious in the group. Apparently, some people were leery of the plan. "Athena cabin will be on defense too so we have some advanced combatants defending our territory. The Nike cabin will be on offense too. We need that extra push and motivation if we are going to have a chance. The rest of the cabins..." and she paused for a moment before saying, "Half of the Iris cabin will be offense and half on defense. They can keep each other informed of the situation. Hecate will be on defense as well. Use the mist to mess things up if you can. Tycke, Hebe, Hypnos and Nemesis will all be on defense. Scatter throughout the woods in groups and make sure the there is always a couple of kids with the Hypnos campers so they don't decide to take a nap and leave a chunk of the woods open for travel. Any questions?"

Heads shook until Percy said, "Where should I be?"

"The creek, obviously; that way you can give those hunters a bath if they come by."

We all chuckled before heading over to where Chiron, Mister D, my mom and Calypso were. Suddenly, it hit me; what was I supposed to do. I hurried over to Annabeth and asked, "Hey, where do you want me? What should I do?"

She blushed dark red and said, "Oh Tartarus, I completely forgot about you! I'm so sorry!"

I brushed it away with a smile. "It's all good. Where should I be?"

She chewed her lip and considered me before saying, "You know more about the hunters' tactics than any of us. What do you think you should do?"

I scratched my chin and realized that I need to shave. My uneven peach fuzz was coming in again. With a sigh, I said, "I'll take to the woods and keep up a patrol on our side of the creek. If I know my sisters, they'll be using a big group to try and keep our focus in the wrong place and use multiple smaller teams to try and get our flag."

Annabeth nodded. "Sounds good."

We listened as Chiron explained the rules. "Listen up, hunters and campers; here are the rules: any campers not injured are required to play; the creek is the boundary and the whole forest is fair game; any and all magic items are in play; the flags must be prominently displayed, can only be guarded by two players and they cannot be any closer than ten yards than it; no killing or maiming; prisoners can be disarmed by not bound or gagged. Now, I will be serving as reffery and Calypso and I will also be battlefield medics. Any questions?"

Heads shook and we all headed off to our places and we waited for the horn. I scratched my chin and looked at the demigods around me. Each cabin was preparing in different ways. The Ares cabin and Apollo cabin were forming up with the offensive group. Hephaestus campers were setting traps and such and the Athena cabin were discussing strategy. Annabeth and her brother Malcolm were the two flag guards. To my unending amusement, the Aphrodite cabin, with the exception of Piper McLean, were adjusting their polished armor. One of them, Drew I remembered her name was, sidled on over to me. "Hello, Arthur;" she said sweetly. "Hi, Drew."

"You're looking very nice this morning;" she purred, adjusting my magic camo duster. I blushed and managed to say, "Thanks. Uh... you are too."

"Thank you, Sweetie;" she said, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "Want a kiss for luck?"

Before I could say yes or no, the horn went off and I grinned. "I'll be around; gotta go hunting my sisters."

With a wink, I took off into the woods. At first, I started laying really simple, yet effective, traps. The goddess Britomartis had taught me herself. She was a hunter of Artemis herself and I always just called her Aunt Britomartis. I was pretty good. When I had used as much material as I had, I just ran, keeping my senses alert. It wasn't long before I saw the minuscule rustles and tiny noises that meant the hunters were in the woods. I climbed a tree and drew a blunt arrow. I saw the forms of a couple of silver clad hunters sneaking through the woods. I fired, drew and fired again. The sound of yelps and groans came and I felt bad. These girls had helped raise me and taught me a lot. It honestly sucked not to be on their team. Quickly, I went to them to make sure they were okay. One of them, Laurel, was holding her ribs. The other, Tessa, was rubbing her shoulders. Unable to help myself, I dropped the hood of my cloak. "Are you two okay?"

They looked at me with glares at first but then sighed and said, "Yeah, we're fine, Arty; don't feel bad. This is how the game is played."

"That's right;" said a voice from behind me. It was one of the kids from the Demeter cabin and with him were a couple of kids from Dionysus and Iris. "We'll take them to jail. You keep doing your thing, Arthur."

I still felt bad and gave my sisters an apologetic look before lifting my hood and running into the trees again. This time, it was my turn to be ambushed. The only reason I avoided being taken or hit was that I sensed them at the last second. You know that feeling that you get when someone is watching you intently? That's what saved me. I dropped and rolled as three arrows smacked the tree next to me. They would have slammed into my chest. A curse came from some bushes and I dove for them, grabbing my spear and shield. In a three on one fight, I knew I was in trouble. I was a pretty good fighter but they were good too. Two of them were using the long hunting knives that all hunters carried and the other used a sword in tandem with hers. They tried to surround me but I refused to let that happen. If I did, I was done for. Just before they were about to overpower me, a figure came out of the woods and engaged the hunters. It was the African-American girl, Hazel Levasque. She fought skillfully with her long, golden colored sword. The hunters were pushed back and, after realizing that they were being bested, took off towards the creek. "Come on!" said Hazel, grabbing my arm, "We need to get back! A dozen hunters are over running the guards at the flag!"

As fast as our legs could carry us, we charged back through the woods. The scene near our flag was chaos. Annabeth and Malcolm were being overrun. A few of the Aphrodite campers were trying to help but they really weren't fighters. The first thing I did was fire a signal arrow into the sky. It flashed and streamed red smoke as is flew straight up. After that, I began firing at the hunters pressing Annabeth and Malcolm. Every time I hit one, I winced and felt worse and worse about it but I wasn't about to stop. If there is one thing my mother and aunt and the hunters taught me was to complete the hunt, to finish the mission.

Thalia saw me and decided that I was a bigger threat than the others, though I couldn't imagine why. Wouldn't Percy be a better target? Or even Hazel? She was a daughter of Hades, one of the most powerful Olympians. Either way, I got two arrows at her, which she deflected with her shield Aegis. I was barely able to get my spear and shield out before she was on me. I knew that I wasn't going to last long. Thalia was much better than me at fighting with a spear and shield. Proving my own point, she got past my guard and jabbed me in the ribs. Electricity shot through me and I collapsed. I saw that the hunters had gotten a hold of the flag and were running it but before they even got out of sight, there was a cheer from the direction of the creek. Just as I was able to sit up, Frank Zhang ran up with the hunter's banner. Thalia scowled but still helped me up. "Wow! That thing still smarts;" I muttered. She grinned at me. "You really need to work on your spear fighting, Moonboy."

I groaned and said, "Yeah, I know."

Chiron galloped in with Calypso on his back. He was trying hard not to grin too broadly as he said, "For the first time in fifty-seven consecutive games, the demigods win!"

The campers cheered and I couldn't help but smile. It had been fun.

We all headed back towards the cabins, the demigods talking animatedly about the game. I was in a mixed mood. On one hand, I was glad to be on the winning team but at the same time, it felt so weird to be against the hunters. We got to the pavilion and Mister D and Artemis were there. When I saw my mom, I felt my resentment returning. It still hurt that she just pushed me off on the campers. It was like, now that I was at camp, she didn't want me with the Hunters anymore.

With my mood totally soured now and I hung out in the back of the crowd, looking down at the ground. In front of me, Sarah Bertelly muttered to one of her cabin mates, "That wasn't that big of a deal; those hunters are overrated."

I snapped, "That's funny, didn't Chiron just say that it was the first time the campers had won in fifty-seven consecutive games."

They both turned to face me and Sarah demanded, "Who's side are you on, anyway, Pretty boy?"

"Aww, you think I'm pretty?" I said sarcastically and Sarah's face burned bright red. "Shut up! What use were you anyway? All you did was stroll into the woods while the rest of us were fighting. What was wrong? Worried about hurting your little sisters?"

I was this close to punching her right in the face. The comment really got to me because I partially felt the same way. I wasn't chosen to be part of the team and I was kicked off the hunter's team. I didn't belong to either group, not really at any rate.

Instead of giving her a much needed punch in the nose, I turned and headed towards Cabin 8. I was almost to the door when a voice came from behind me. "Is something the matter, Arthur?"

I turned and glared at my mom. She was in her twelve or thirteen year old form again. "No, nothing at all; I was just kicked out of the hunters without any heads up and even during the game, I was barely part of the demigods team. But no, nothing's wrong."

Her face was expressionless as she studied mine and that just made me angrier. A hundred nasty and stupid remarks swam through my head but she was my mom - and a goddess, so I just looked away, turning back to go into the cabin. "Come with me, Son;" she said quietly. I didn't want to but I obeyed in silence. We walked out towards Halfblood Hill. Finally, my mom said, "The truth is, you aren't one of my hunters, Arthur. You really never were."

That hurt and I was barely able to keep tears from spilling down my face. "You are my son and boys are not allowed to be hunters. That's one of the reasons you never joined me or the hunters on our quests or in our battles during the wars. Even so, I've broken the rules for too long. Gods and goddesses are not supposed to interact with their demigod children. The only reason Zeus let me was because most of the time, I was off doing things for Olympus and, especially during the wars, you were staying with Leto."

Leto was my grandmother. She was the most motherly person I'd ever met. She was sweet and caring and took good care of me. Whenever the hunters went to fight, during the Titan and Giant Wars, that's where mom had sent me. My mom continued, "Now Zeus has decided that you need to be here, just like all the other Greek demigods. I have to follow the rules from and that means limited contact from now on."

It didn't make me feel any better. With a tiny smile, Artemis took my shoulder and pointed me towards the camp. "Look at them, Arthur. No matter who their godly parent is, they look after one another."

I refused to nod or say anything, petulantly remaining stone faced. With a sigh, Artemis said, "I'm sorry, Arthur. I was never a very good mother. I kept pushing you off on my hunters, Britomartis and my mother."

Unable to help myself, I blurted out, "You only made me because dad couldn't have kids anyway. You never expected or wanted anything to do with me in the first place."

I felt bad immediately after I said it but I refused to apologies or say anything. A hurt look crossed her face and she sighed heavily. "Arthur, tomorrow the hunters and I are leaving. Zeus sent us word of monsters causing trouble in West Virginia and commanded that we take care of it. I know you're mad at me but please say goodbye to the hunters. They're going to miss you very much."

"I will;" I muttered. "Thank you;" she said before heading back to pavilion. I just ran off into the woods again. For one thing, I needed to disassemble my traps. For another, I really wanted to just be alone. As I worked, I allowed myself to indulge in self pity. I knew it didn't do any good but I was just so bummed out. "Hey kid; why the long face?"

I whirled around and their stood my Uncle Apollo. I grinned. We were best buddies whenever he was around. I stowed the last of my traps and we exchanged high fives. "So come on, Art, why so gloomy?"

I sighed and poured my heart out to him. Say what you want about Apollo, how he can be arrogant and egotistical and narcissistic but he always took the time for me and listened to my problems. I don't know why. Maybe since he wasn't allowed to interact with his own kids very much, he tried to make up for it by cheering me up. "Yeah, that's pretty rough, buddy. Truth is, you're mom's right. All the other gods, well those few who knew at any rate, have been grumbling that you were allowed to be with her when none of the others were. They were all sworn to secrecy and all but they still didn't like it so Zeus decided to enforce the law. Truth is, I can't think of better hands for her to leave you in. This camp will be good for you. Besides, weren't you always complaining that you never had any buddies?"

I couldn't help but smile. He had a point there. Clapping me on the back, Apollo said, "Come on. Let's get back to camp and see what's going on."

As we strolled into camp, everyone got excited as Apollo came in with me. He gave me a quick side hug before lifting his arms and saying, "How's it going, campers?"

I went back to Cabin 8, still in no mood to interact or take part in any camp activities. Once again, before I went inside, Chiron stopped me. "Arthur, my boy, I know that this is hard for you but believe me when I say that it's for the best."

I sighed and nodded. "I know it is, Chiron but I still don't like it."

"I know, my boy. I also know you don't feel at home here, being the only child of the huntress. But look over at Percy and at Nico. They're the only children of their godly parents permanently on residence and they found a place here. You can too but you can't just shut people out. Join us and let us be your friends. Don't push the other demigods away."

I knew he was right and grudgingly let him lead me back to the activity areas. Some of the Aphrodite campers were playing a game of volleyball with wood nymphs and Satyrs. Other campers were on the canoe pond, paddling away while others were at the archery range, the training arena and on the climbing wall. Wanting to work off some steam, I went to the archery range. Grabbing an armful of target arrows, I took my place and stuck them in the ground at my feet. Gazing at the target, I decided to try and make a constellation with my arrows. One arrow after the other, I hit the target. When I was done, the camper next to me, one of the Apollo kids I thought, asked, "Are you doing alright? That's a pretty messy target."

I chuckled and said, "I'm doing better. Can't you see? I made the Scorpio constellation."

When he examined target, she chuckled and said, "Nice."

We spent the next hour competing at who could be the better archer, using our arrows to form constellations. After that, I decided that I needed to head to the training arena. Like Thalia had said, my spear work needed more attention and I could always use practice with a sword. When I entered, I saw Jason Grace and Percy Jackson were conducting the training. After a smile and a nod at them, I grabbed a shield and a sword and waited for a partner. To my surprise, Piper McLean stepped across from me.

Now as I've said before, I'm a mediocre but she was from the Aphrodite cabin. I figured that even I wasn't going to have trouble with her. Boy, was I ever wrong.

It was less than thirty seconds before she had disarmed me and I stood stunned. "Woah..." I said. Smiling, she said, "Go get your sword."

I stood up and we crossed blades. Again, she disarmed me, this time, moving her sword point to my throat. Now I was just getting embarrassed. If I couldn't beat a daughter of the goddess of love, who could I beat?

Jason walked over and said, "Don't worry about it, Man. For a beauty queen, Piper is pretty remarkable with the sword. Keep at it and don't get discouraged."

With a self deprecating chuckled, I kept at it. Despite my initial embarrassment, I could tell I was getting better with the sword. By the time we called a halt, I had learned a half dozen new tricks to practice. Jason and Percy were laughing as I, once again retrieved my sword but I laughed with them. A snort came from not far and Sarah said, "Wow... you were disarmed like fifty times by and Aphrodite girl. Can you fight at all?"

I refused to let it get under my skin this time. Shrugging, I replied, "Hey, even I can't be good at everything. I prefer the bow but I'm pretty good with a spear too."

Sarah grinned and hefted her spear and shield. "Care to back up those words?"

I jogged over and grabbed a blunted spear. When hunting boar or bear, you didn't use a shield so I came back without on. Sarah frowned, "You're not grabbing a shield?"

"Who needs a shield?" I said with a grin. I gripped the spear in both hands and spun it. Sarah attacked viciously with a stab. I slapped it aside with the back end of my spear and retaliated. The problem was that it wasn't any easier to get past the shield than it would have been if I had done it. She covered herself well but, even with her lineage, she had only been doing this for two days. I had been doing this since I was six years old. When she tried to thrust again I deflected it, jabbed towards her feet. If forced her to drop the shield and open up her head and chest. Seeing her error, she began to back pedal. Quickly, I worked under her shield guard and butted her in the chest with my spear haft, winding her and bringing the tip up to her throat.

There was a low whistle behind me and several of the others clapped. Sarah was red with anger. "You think your so slick, don't you, Pretty Boy?"

I put my spear away and said, "Nope; I've just been doing this for most of my life. Like I said, I prefer the bow and my knife and tomahawk when in close combat. Anyhow, keep up the good work and maybe you'll be good as me someday."

She cursed and went for her sword but her siblings held her, glaring at me. I was whistling happily as the dinner horn sounded. Quickly, I ran to the pavilion, as did all the campers around me. The rest of the evening passed much the same way that the evening before did. This time, I was less energized. After dinner and the bonfire, I went back to the Artemis cabin and changed before collapsing on the bed.

* * *

The next morning before breakfast, the hunters were packed and ready to go. At first, I had petulantly decided that, unless she came to talk to me, I wasn't going to bother saying goodbye to my mom. If she wanted to leave me like that, it was up to her. The hunters, however, each came to hug me goodbye. Thalia reached up and ruffled my hair. "Take care, Arty. You're not going to have us all here to watch your back so be careful."

"That's alright;" I said. "I have the demigods now. They'll look after me if I need them to."

Thalia nodded and hugged me one more time before heading back to the rest of the hunters. I turned to walk away to see my mom behind me. Immediately, I felt bad. I realized that it was possibly going to be a very long time before I saw her again. "I may have made you as a gift for you father;" she said, "but that does not mean that I love you the less for it. You are still my child. I do not regret you in any way."

To my surprise, it warmed me to hear her say that. Even so, something was bothering her. "What's wrong?" I asked. She sighed and said, "You are still a male, Arthur and you will grow to be a man and I fear that the wonderful, innocent boy I made and found at your father's cabin will cease to exist, changed by the world, never to be the same again."

I understood and said, "That innocent little boy will be in here somewhere. There was something in my dad you saw that you were fond of, wasn't there?"

But she shook her head. "I don't know, Arthur; this world is hard and full of influences. You have blessedly sheltered for so long but now you will get to experience everything that I have kept you from. You will become a man - have already become a young man and I..."

She looked away and there was an added glimmer in her eyes. "I cannot trust men, Arthur."

"You trust Percy Jackson!" I protested. Artemis shook her head again. "That is different; Percy Jackson has earned my trust in a way that few men have or will. I trusted your father because I knew that he could not breach that trust. I..." and she looked wistful. "I loved him in a way that I love my brother Apollo, even though he was very much less annoying. But you, Arthur, I just..." and she shook her head again. I felt as though my heart was both turning to stone and shattering all at once. "Just go;" I whispered huskily. "Your beloved hunters need you."

I turned and ran for the woods. They were the only place in camp I could be right now. My mother did not trust me. The next time I saw her, she would see me as the same as every other man on the planet and that hurt more than I ever thought it could.

I don't know exactly how long I wandered the woods, shedding tears and hunting down any monsters that I could track. My focus was off and I only managed two. Finally, as the sun started to go down, I heard someone calling my name in the woods. Turning, I saw a trio of Satyrs coming towards me. One of them was older than the others and he carried a baseball bat. As he approached he roared, "What on earth is your malfunction, Cupcake?" he demanded. "People have been worried sick about you! Get your behind back to the cabins before I smack you so hard, your mommy and your daddy feel it, wherever they are."

That didn't help my mood. Were it someone that I was at least acquainted to, I would have exploded. Instead, I locked up. The old Satyr berated me the whole way back. Chiron looked sternly at me until he saw how upset I was. "Everyone, go back to what you were doing? Gleason, thank you but I will take it from here?"

"Are you sure he doesn't need a good...?" but Chiron cut the old Satyr off. "No, my friend; you've done enough. Arthur, come with me please."

I did, still stone faced. In the big house, Mister D looked at me and then at Chiron. "What's his problem?"

I glared arrows at him and Chiron replied, "Sir, with all do respect, I think you should go and message your wife. You haven't done so in over a week."

Mister D studied him and then shrugged, "Whatever you say, Chiron."

Chiron got me some tea but I ignored it. "I didn't expect you to take the hunters and your mother leaving so hard."

"I'm glad she's gone;" I couldn't keep from growling. That stopped him for a moment. "Who?"

"Artemis;" I all but exploded. "She's always pushed me off on the hunters and pushed me off on Leto. Now, just before she leaves, she tells me that she won't be able to trust. Do you know why?"

"Because you're a young man;" said Chiron quietly. "Because I'm a... yeah, that's why."

Chiron sighed and said, "Look Arthur, I know that must have been hard but tell me, would you rather know about this ahead of time or run into her on a quest and have her treat you like any other man she meets?"

"I'd rather she trust me!" I all but screamed. "I'd rather she remember that she made me. She's. My. MOM!"

Chiron was silent. Finally, about to cry like a baby again, I crossed my arms on the table and said bitterly, "I wish she'd never even made me. Wish she'd never even met my dad."

I felt Chiron's large hand on my shoulder. "My boy, your mother did to bring your father happiness. It is not her fault that he died unexpectedly. I do not necessarily agree with how your mother handled this. The question is, what are you going to do now?"

I looked up. "What?"

"What are you going to do now?"

I had no freakin' clue what I was going to do. "What can I do?"

Chiron gave me a smile that reminded me of my dad. "You can continue to let these feelings, justified as they are, to overwhelm you, or you can work through them. For better or worse, you're here now, child. So, I ask again, what will you do?"

I didn't want to admit the logic of his reasoning. I wanted to stay mad but I also realized that I couldn't. With a sigh, I stood and said, "Some day, I will earn my mother's trust just like Percy Jackson did. Until then, I guess I'll do..." and I paused before shrugging, "whatever it is you do here."

Chiron chuckled and said, "Good lad. We train heroes to survive here. Look, I know you can't just turn off these emotions and all that but you can't let them paralyze you. Your stronger than that."

I set my jaw and nodded. "Thank you, Chiron."

Chiron waved it away and picked up the cold tea. "That is why I'm here, my boy. Now go on. Your friends were a little worried about you."

I nodded and walked out of the big house. Taking a big breath of the cool, clear night air, I did feel better. Looking around, I saw some of the campers moving around. Off near the stables, my sharp eyes saw two kids hugging by the stables. Now, I have exceptional night vision. I could tell that it was a boy and girl hugging each other tightly and they looked like they could be Percy and Annabeth. I was about to jog over there when someone grabbed my arm and said, "Woah there, big guy! Where are you going?"

I turned to see Leo Valdez there with Calypso next to him. "I was just going to say hi to Percy and Annabeth. Why?"

Leo began to laugh. Calypso elbowed him and said, "Arthur, I think they'd rather be alone at the moment. They don't get a lot of time alone together and..." and she fumbled for words. I didn't understand until I looked back at them. It was at that moment, I understood and felt like a moron. "Oh..."

My cheeks burned and cursed the fact that I had been raised in such a sheltered life. Leo slapped my back and said, "Ah! Me hermano! Fifteen years with the hunters doesn't teach you about stuff like that, does it?"

Calypso elbowed him again and hissed, "Leo! Stop it!"

With a sigh, I said, "If anyone wants to know where I am, I'll be hanging myself with my bow string in my cabin."


	3. Chapter 3: I Get a Quest

When I woke up the next morning, my hurt and anger hit me hard, despite my resolution not to let it overwhelm me. For ten minutes, I battled with my turbulent emotions before wrestling them back under control and standing. The cabin was empty. On each bed was a small package that I hadn't noticed the night before. I had been so tired and emotionally shot that I hadn't noticed them, just walking to my bunk, stripping off my clothes and plopping onto my bunk. But now, every previously occupied bunk had a package of some kind on it. Frowning, I looked at one of them. It was a box about the size of one of those that a softball came in. Opening it, I saw a series carefully coiled bow strings - hand made by one of my sisters, probably Kimberly. She was a daughter of Athena who had joined the hunters a few centuries back and was exceptional at weaving and braiding bowstring out of anything.

I felt a lump form in my throat and a smile cross my face. No matter what mom though, I knew that the hunters would always care for me and look at me the same and that warmed me. I gathered all of the parting gifts on my bed and opened them, one at a time. Most of them were little things like the bow strings - a canteen filled with something, probably moon water and a decorative charm made of a small disk of bone about the size of a silver dollar. It was supposed to be the moon with a deer engraved on it. I hung it on my quiver. All the gifts were like that except the final one. It was a strange, uneven and about two feet long, wrapped in leather. Untying the two rawhide strings, I carefully unwrapped the leather and gasped. Two and a half foot long hunting knives. Their handles were formed from the antlers of a deer and the blades were made of celestial bronze and with silver engravings in them. They were all pictures of my mom and I - her teaching me to hunt, our hunting of game when I was younger. One picture showed her assisting in the birth of a child, unseen, of course, by the mortal woman.

My eyes stung again. Wrapped around one of the knive's handles was a note. I carefully pulled it off and unrolled it. It was from my mother.

 _Arthur, my son,_

 _I know you are angry and hurt and I am sorry but I needed you to know the truth of the matter. When you were born, I had my step-brother make these for you. They are, celestial bronze and the silver that is inlaid into the blade will also prove effective against other monsters such as werewolves._

 _I know that you will be a great demigod._

 _I love you._

 _-Artemis_

Well I was in tears for another ten minutes after that. I felt so stupid. I had cried more in the passed day in a half than in my entire childhood. Once again, I regained control of my wayward emotions and cleared my throat. Experimentally I said, "Well, breakfast is probably being served."

My voice was rough and I scowled. Going to the bathroom, I threw water over my face and drank a glass of water. Looking in the mirror, I saw that my eyes were rimmed in red. It made my scowl look even worse. "Great;" I muttered to myself, "now everyone's going to know I've been crying for almost thirty minutes. Sighing, I went back to my bunk and grabbed my knives, sheathed them and attached the scabbards to my belt. I took off my first knife and stowed it in my locker. The tomahawk, I kept where it was. That done, I took a fast shower, got dressed in a pair of camo pants, black boots and one of the orange Camp Half Blood t-shirts. It was technically my size but it was still a little tight across my chest and on my arms. I muttered about how hard it was these days to find t-shirts that were the right length and a little wider. That done, I headed outside. Breakfast was already being served in the pavilion. Many of the eyes turned to me as I went to my table and sat down, trying to look apathetic but I'm pretty sure I just looked sullen. The nymphs came and served me instead of the magic plates that filled with whatever I wanted. One of them smiled sympathetically and whispered, "It's okay, Arthur; you'll be okay."

I smiled gratefully. Even though I was certain she didn't know why I was so out of sorts, if felt nice. "Thanks. Mmmm, this all looks fantastic;" I sood, looking at the waffles covered with fruit preserves, sausage links, scrambled eggs and a big glass of orange juice. The nymph giggled and said, "Thank you; can I get you anything else, sweetie?"

I hesitated and asked, "Um... do you have coffee, maybe?"

She smiled sweetly. "Sure, sweetheart; be right back."

I made my sacrifice to the gods and then dug in with a will and stuffed myself, thanking the nymph when she brought me a cup of coffee. As I ate, I looked around. The other campers were laughing and joking over their meals, though most of them were done eating and starting to get up. By the time I finished my meal, the others were heading back to their cabins to clean up. My cabin was clean and so was I so I finished my meal. Chiron clopped over and smiled at me sympathetically. "How are you this morning, my boy?"

I smiled back. "It started a little rough but I'm all better now. So, how does the schedule work here? I haven't had a regular day of camp yet. How does training go?"

"Well;" said Chiron, "we have archery ranges, sword and spear training arenas, the stables where horses and pegusai are boarded and the triremes in long island sound where we practice naval warfare. Aside from the training areas, we also have the canoe pond, the volleyball court, the basketball courts and so on. There is plenty to do. And, of course, you already know about the monsters in the woods. All I ask is that you try to limit your hunting at least a little bit so that we don't deplete out stock of monsters."

I chuckled at that. "I'll restrain myself;" I assured him as I stood. I brought my dishes to the turn-in line and then headed out to my first activity, the climbing wall. I was pretty good at climbing - most hunters are. It was a great challenge and I was satisfied as I climbed to the top and repelled back down. I went to a first aid class and then to the archery range, where Will Solace asked me to help teach archery. Before lunch, I went to the stables where Percy Jackson and Hazel Lavesque taught horse and pegasus riding. When we took a break, Percy clapped my back. "Nice work. You're a natural rider."

"Thanks;" I said with a smile. Lunch was delicious as always and I was about to head to the fighting arena when Rachel Elizabeth Dare ran over. Her voice was dry, her eyes green and a green aura surrounded her.

"You will be approached by Olympas' King,

A quest to you, he himself shall bring,

Until that day, in New Rome you must stay,

and Zeus shall send two companions your way,

from out of the past, two fools emerge,

who must resist Aphrodite's urge,

two more, you will meet along the quest,

of whom you shall be an unwilling guest,

and the greatest hunt for a thousand years,

to keep one's ancient oath from fears,

you will undertake at Summer's close,

and must complete before Winter wind blows."

It was a prophecy. Rachel's eyes flickered and I had to catch her as she swooned. Careful, I set her on the ground. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase ran up. "She gave you a prophecy;" said Percy. I nodded, chewing my lip. Carefully, I lifted her and carried her to the pavilion, out of the sun. After some cool water, she looked at me and said, "It was meant for you."

"I know;" I murmured uneasily. Chiron galloped up. "What has happened?"

"Rachel has given Arthur a prophecy. He will have a quest at the end of the Summer and it will be given by Zeus himself;" said Percy. "And I will have until Winter to save someone from something that will cause them to break an oath;" I said, rubbing my temples. "Apparently, he will send me two companions from out of the past, fools who must resist Aphrodite's urge."

Annabeth nodded. "And, apparently, two more members of the quest will be found as well, which will bring the total to five."

Chiron lifted his hand and said, "Hold on now, my children. Arthur, Rachel - please come with me to the recreation room. Annabeth, Percy - go gather all the cabin senior councilors."

Within twenty minutes, the cabin councilors were gathered. Twenty-one kids plus Chiron and Mister D gathered around a ping-pong table in the rec-room. Rachel told the others the prophecy while I half listened, considering the words. Twenty-two sets of eyes looked at me and it took over a minute for me to realize that they were staring. "Well?" said Mister D while he looked at a wine catalog. "What does it mean, Aaron Pine?"

I ignored that he had called me by the wrong name and shrugged. "I'm not a hundred percent sure. It seems as though Zeus himself will have a quest for me. Does that sound accurate, Rachel?"

She nodded and said, "Until then, you are told to wait in New Rome. When he's ready for you to go, he'll bring you two ancient companions whom you, apparently, need to save from Aphrodite's urge."

"Yeah;" I said, blushing slightly. Any demigod should be able to understand what that meant and I hoped no one asked me to explain it. Rachel crossed her arms and said, "I mean, it doesn't take a genius to know what Aphrodite's urge is but what does it have to do with two fools from the past? Aphrodite has caused the urge to a thousand couples in the past so how do we know which one the prophecy is about?"

There were a few murmurs but no one really had anything impactful. I was puzzling over it when Jason Grace said, "That will become apparent when Zeus shows you your companions. What about the other two companions? Isn't it usually supposed to only be three on a quest?"

Nico De Angelo lifted a hand, "There were seven during the Giant War and two of the quests during the Titan War included more than three. It may have been an ancient law but, apparently, the a Fates seem to be able to get over it. Anyhow, when are you leaving for New Rome? It seems that everything really starts there."

I sighed and said, "I don't know."

I had just gotten to camp a few days ago and the gods already wanted me to leave. Annabeth chewed her lower lip before she said, "We were planning on heading back to New Rome about half way through the summer anyway. Do you think it would be safe to wait until then?"

All the other camp councilors looked back and forth at one another. Chiron and Mister D were looking at Rachel who shrugged uncomfortably. Finally tired of the indecision, I stood. "That's when I'll leave. If the gods don't like it, they can send me a sign. I'm tired of being on the road. I'm tired of moving from group to group. I'll go when the other demigods are heading to New Rome."

Everyone nodded though Chiron was hesitant. Mister D stood and said, "Well I'm glad that's over; now I believe that there are still several good hours before dinner. Back to your activities, campers."

I wasn't in the mood. In fact, I was about to head back out into the woods when a pair of hands clamped onto my shoulders. "Oh no you don't!" said Frank Zhang on one side. "You're not going to get all moody and run off again. What's up? Tell us what's wrong and let us help you for once!" said Jason Grace. Both guys looked concerned and mildly exasperated. It felt good that someone was looking out for me. With a sigh, I decided to confide in them. "I just got here and the gods want me to leave, days after my mother kicks me out of the hunters. It just feels like the gods won't let me sit still."

Frank and Jason nodded their heads. "That's the life of a demigod, Arthur - at least, those demigods with great and important destinies."

"I don't want a great or important destiny;" I muttered petulantly. Jason laughed and clapped me on the back. "Come on, Son of Artemis! Do you really think you'd get away with your heritage without greatness in your future? Fate just doesn't work that way. Now come on! If you're going to go on a quest, Percy, Sherman Yang and I are going to make sure that your sword work is a whole lot better. Hazel is going to make you an expert horse and pegasus rider. You're going to learn to march in a phalanx with a shield and spear and shield and sword."

I found myself eager. I wanted to learn. If I was going to chosen by the king of the gods, I wanted to be as prepared as possible. For the next five hours, I trained like a madman, trying to absorb as many sword and spear tricks as possible and repeat them as many times as possible. Sherman Yang, head of the Ares cabin, beat the tar out of me using spear and shield and Jason and Percy took it in turn to do so with their swords. After that was an easier thing - Athena and Hephaestus leading some crafting work. I didn't know what I was supposed to do so I decided to just work on a chunk of wood. Using a set of knives, I whittled and scraped and carved at it. Slowly, I saw a small wooded carving of the Huntress take shape. She had an arrow to the string and was running as if on the hunt. It wasn't the greatest of carvings but Deric, one of the Athena campers, was impressed with it. I blushed and shrugged, "Sometimes, to pass the time, I would widdle between hunts and moving around."

"That reminds me;" called Annabeth and she came over. "I want you to teach a class on hunting and tracking. Can you do that for me? We never actually had someone aside from a few satyrs to do it but I think you'd be better."

I looked at my small statue. It was about ten inches tall and the likeness wasn't half bad either. "I can do that. Sure. When were you thinking?"

"Tomorrow, I think would be best;" answered Annabeth with a pleased smile. "Thank you, Arthur."

After the crafting class, it was dinner time. The horn blew and we headed to the pavilion. I decided that I had a really good day, despite the rough start and the quest. As always, dinner was delicious and afterwards was the bonfire. Songs were sung, smores were made and jokes were told. I actually began to feel like I belonged. After a few songs and some smores, I excused myself. The moon was a crescent and it looked to me like a drawn bow. I decided that maybe a walk along the beach would be nice. As I walked, I pulled my magical harmonica from my wallet. At will, I could turn it into a hunting spear. Right now, though, I decided a short little tune wouldn't be so bad. I played as the tune came to me. It was probably nonsense but it felt good to play. I'm not sure how long I played but when I stopped, I felt so good. "I normally hate the harmonica but that sounded beautiful;" came a voice behind me. I turned to see Drew. With a coy smile, she said, "I saw you sneak off. Wanted to be sure you're okay."

I smiled and blushed slightly. "I'm actually great, thanks. I had a really good day today. How are you, Drew?"

"I'm glad you had a good day. Mind if I walk with you?"

It didn't bother me at all, having a beautiful girl walk with me along the beach at night. "It's technically frowned upon for a boy and a girl to walk alone together along the beach but they usually cut some slack;" explained Drew. I frowned. "Why would it be against the rules for a guy and a girl to walk alone at night?"

Drew giggled and said, "You are kidding, right? Surely your mother never let you wander alone with just a single hunter!"

"Sure she did. Why wouldn't she trust me alone with my sisters? Thalia and I would go off and hunt together all the time."

Drew giggled and said, "Well I suppose I can understand that but the thing is, guys and girls can get into all kinds of mischief if they go off one on one."

I blushed, slowly realizing what she was talking about. "Well... I mean... I wasn't exactly planning on..."

"Of course not, Honey;" said Drew, taking his hand as they walked. "You're much too sweet for that. Besides, being the only boy among fifty female hunters, I'm sure you learned how to treat women with the proper respect."

If there was anything I learned in those nine years, it was to respect women. But they had all been my sisters, not potential girl friends or anything. This was a little beyond my reckoning.

The night was quiet except for the roar of the surf. Drew asked me all about my upbringing and I answered, telling stories about how I had learned to hunt and trap and fight. She was an attentive listener, or at the very least, pretended to be. It was over an hour before they made it back to the cabin areas. Drew was still holding his hand. When I asked her about herself, she told me a little bit but by then, we were back at Cabin 10, the Aphrodite cabin. "Curfew soon;" she said and looked up into my eyes. "Can I have a kiss goodnight?"

Something about her voice drew me in - no pun intended. It was as if her request became the most reasonable and desirable thing at the moment. I leaned down was about to press my lips to hers when there was a violent explosion of sneezes nearby. We both looked and saw Jason Grace pulling a tissue from a pack and wiping and blowing his nose.

That's when I realized exactly what I was about to do. Casually as possible, I took a step back. Jason Grace looked over and blushes, "Sorry, hope I didn't interrupt anything."

Piper came round the corner and smiled at Jason before seeing Drew and I. It was terribly awkward. I cleared my throat a few times before saying, "Have a good night, Drew. You guys do the same."

Quickly I went to Cabin 8. "Zeus on Olympus, what was I thinking?"

Quickly, I hopped in the shower and got ready to sleep. I had just finished up and thrown on some pajamas - gym shorts and a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, when there was a knock at the door. With my hair still wet, I went to the door and opened it. Piper McLean stood there, looking very uncomfortable. "Um... Hi, Arthur; did you have a good day?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah; it started rough but ended better. How was your day?"

"It was good; look I apologize in advance if I am getting involved with something that isn't my business but you really should be careful with Drew."

I frowned. "Okay; is there anything in particular I need to be careful about specifically?"

"She has a gift that is rare even to the children of Aphrodite called Charm Speak. It means she can basically make people do whatever she wants just by speaking."

I was silent for a long moment before nodding slowly. "I see; that makes sense. But why would she use it on me? It's not like I'm a child of Zeus or someone super powerful. I'm just a son of Artemis."

Piper chuckled and said, "For one thing, you are an impossibility. You shouldn't exist. That makes you interesting. For another, you should look in the mirror."

I had just finished looking in the mirror while I was brushing my teeth and shaving my patchy stubble. "Why? I don't get it."

Piper laughed and said, "Oh gods! You boys can be so oblivious."

"I think that's just me, actually;" I mumbled in embarrassment. She shook her head. "No, Jason, Frank, Percy - apparently they were all the same way at first, totally clueless to how their various girlfriends thought about them before they started dating. It's totally a boy thing. Anyhow, just be careful, okay. Drew used to get people to fall in love with her and then break their hearts. It's an Aphrodite thing - something I've been trying to put a stop to for years now but she still does it."

I nodded, wondering how I was supposed to deal with this whole situation. "Well, thanks for the heads up, Piper."

She nodded and said, "Of course; have a good night."

"You do the same;" I said before shutting the door and going to the bathroom and looking in the mirror. Silvery-gray eyes and light brown hair around the last hints of a baby face. Nothing spectacular there. Shrugging, I decided to head to bed, still wondering what on earth Piper meant by 'look in the mirror' to figure out why Drew was interested in him.

Apparently, demigods have strange dreams. As I slept, I found myself seeing the hunters. All my sisters looked anxious and confused. One of them ran up to Thalia and said, "There is absolutely no sign of her, Thalia. What are we going to do?"

Thalia's face was hard and worried, "We need to get to Camp Jupiter; they're the closest assistance we can find."

The other hunter chewed her lip before murmuring. "There is another group that can help us. We really should consider them. I mean, there are no boys there so that would be better."

Thalia sighed and said, "I wish Arthur was here."

"We don't need Arthur. Remember what Lady Artemis said. We can't trust him anymore;" said the other hunter. That hurt. That really hurt. "Our only hope is Queen Hylla. She has the numbers to help us search and, when we find Lady Artemis, the power to help us fight."

Thalia glared at her. "I will always trust Arthur but you're right. Let's head to Seattle."

I woke up feeling like I hadn't slept at all. After throwing water on my face, changing and putting my hair into something resembling some kind of order, I headed outside. Everyone was going towards the pavilion for breakfast but I wasn't in the mood to talk. I didn't remember my dream; I just knew that I felt like a Cretan bull had plowed over me. I didn't notice the eyes studying me as I got into line for food. "Morning, Arthur;" said a cheerful voice. Looking to my right, I saw that it was Annabeth Chase. "Ready to teach us about tracking and hunting? You'll be working with Coach Gleeson Hedge."

I had forgotten about that and was not eager to start. "Yes;" I muttered, "but I need coffee."

Annabeth chuckled. Suddenly, Percy came up behind her, wrapped an arm aroud her waist and kissed her cheek. "Morning, Wisegirl."

"Seaweed Brain;" she giggled. Everytime something like that happened, I felt like an intruder. I grabbed my plate and a cup of coffee before heading to my table and plopping down. Looking up, I saw that Chiron was giving me a look, one bushy brow up, probably asking, "Are you okay?"

I mustered a smile and nodded. I didn't know a facial expression that could mean, "I'm super tired;" so I just stuck with the smile. Even so, I think the Centaur understood perfectly.

Breakfast worked its magic and I felt a whole lot better afterwards. It helped that I sipped on a flask of moonwater while I ate. One of the boys from the Dionysis cabin ran over and asked, "What is that stuff? Did you bring wine?"

I chuckled. "No; it's totally non-alcoholic."

The kid actually looked disappointed. Mister D glared over and said, "Aaron Peters, what on Olympus are you drinking?"

Unable to help myself, I lifted my coffee cup. "The good stuff, Mister D; hot brewed, slightly burned, no cream, no sugar and barely aged."

There were snorts of laughter from those within earshot but Mister D glared. Chiron hid a smile and cleared his throat, "I believe that Mister D meant the large silver flask in your hand."

"Oh this!" I said, "It's just a canteen of water. Gotta stay hidrated and all that."

Chiron wasn't fooled. He'd been around for far too long and trained too many heroes to know when one of them was pulling one of his legs. However, he didn't say anything. Mister D just snorted and ignored me as he drank a diet coke.

After breakfast, I led a big group out to the woods. The satyr Gleeson Hedge was with us too so I decided to get his advice. "What do you think, Coach?" I murmured to him. "I've never taught a class like this before."

"It's pretty easy, Kid;" said the old goat as he chewed on a cluster of flowers. "Make it interesting, draw them in. Don't tell them, show them."

I nodded. "Thanks, Coach."

"No problem and hey, put in a good word to your mom to me."

I chuckled and said, "Yeah, sure coach."

I turned to see all the other watching me, realizing that I was probably one of, if not the, youngest one there. Clearing my throat, I looked around and found a track - a massive paw print the size of a dinner plate. My interest was peaked and I knelt down. They all gathered around me and I looked up, grinning. "Can any of you tell me what this print is?"

Percy Jackson looked at it and said, "Hellhound?"

I grinned. "Nope, close though; anyone else?"

They all murmured but the consensus was no. "A hellhound's print would be rounder and deeper. They're pretty heavy. No, this is a werewolf print. You guys are crazy to stock the woods with these."

Dead silence. "We don't;" said Annabeth as she reached for her sword. That scared me. Coach Hedge jumped into action, "Alright, Cupcakes - get back to the cabins. NOW!"

They began to head that way but I looked at the track. This werewolf was huge. "Price! Get your butt over here!"

I didn't pay attention. "This track is only a few hours old. How could it have gotten passed the magical barriers that protect this place?" I murmured to myself. "Arthur;" yelled one of the other campers. "Come on!"

"We need to kill this thing before it can hurt someone;" I declared, straightening and stringing my bow. Most of the others looked terrified. Coach Hedge growled, "There is no one a kid like you is going to be hunting that werewolf. Leave it to Chiron, Argus and the senior campers."

I shook my head. "No time for that; we can't let something like this run free. Do any of you have experience with werewolves?"

I began to follow the tracks when Jason Grace said, "Woah! Dude! At least wait for Chiron to get here!"

I wanted to argue but Jason was correct. Waiting for Chiron would be best. The good new was that I didn't have long to wait. The Centaur galloped up with Nico De Angelo on his back. I could have sworn that Nico had been hanging out in the back of my group with Will Solace. "Campers, go back to the cabin. Arthur, stay with me."

Jason put his hand to his sword. "Some of us have face werewolves before, Chiron;" he said. Chiron nodded, "and that's why I want you back at the cabins. If the werewolf gets back that way, we need people there who can protect the others. Go on and have everyone lock themselves in their cabins."

Jason obeyed without question. Chiron lifted me onto his back and we followed the trail. "Do you have silver arrows, Arthur?" he asked. "I always keep a few in my quiver just in case. You?"

Chiron nodded. We tracked the monster in silence. Every now and again, I would hop down and examine a track. The werewolf's trail led us in a wide arc, eventually heading towards the edge of the forest. "It looks like it may be heading towards the cabins;" said Chiron anxiously. I hopped down again and examined the tracks, frowning. "Wait, these tracks - the wolf stood here for awhile and then the tracks just stop. They're really deep. He must have taken on some weight. Or he..." I turned and froze, "walked backwards;" I said quietly. "Chiron;" I whispered. There the wolf was, less than ten feet away. It's red eyes gleamed with amusement and in my I head, I heared him. "So the horse-man brings one of his children to hunt me. I expected the whole of your army but this is just insulting."

I doubted that I could turn, aim and fire in the time it would take him to leap. My best option would be my knives but against a foe that big, I did not like my odds. I didn't take my eyes off of the wolf but I couldn't help but wonder what Chiron was doing. To buy time, I said, "I am a son of the huntress Artemis. I have no reason to fear you. _You_ should fear _me_."

The wolf's laughter entered my mind and he crouched. "Arthur, move!"

Three things happened at once. The wolf leaped, I dove and Chiron loosed an arrow. The wolf managed to catch it in his mouth but spat it out with a yelp. I drew my knives and attacked his flank. Chiron tried to fire another arrow but the wolf leaped at him. It was clear that the activities director was the real target, not me. I charged after the wolf and managed to sink both knives both knives into its side before it sank its fangs into Chiron's throat. The wolf yelped and turned to smoke. "Thank you, my boy;" said the Centaur as he rose to his hoofs. He didn't have any injuries. "That werewolf was after you, Chiron. Why is that?"

"I don't know, my boy. One thing's for sure: this won't be the last attempt. Someone in this camp wants me dead."

He lifted me onto his back. For a moment, I was utterly speechless. "What do you mean 'someone in camp wants you dead'?"

"Monsters can only come through our magical barriers if someone allows them through;" explained Chiron as we galloped back to the cabins. As soon as they got there, every door to almost every cabin flew open and the campers poured out. Annabeth, Percy, Jason, Piper and Nico were the front runners. "What happened?"

I hopped off of Chiron's back. "Arthur killed the wolf. The camp is safe again for now."

He didn't mention that the werewolf had been after him, so I did. "The wolf was after Chiron. I'm wondering how it got passed your camp's barriers."

Silence followed and low murmurs were heard throughout the campers. Chiron said, "I don't want any campers to go anywhere alone. Stick to groups. Patrols will be larger and make sure you are sufficiently armed."

"What about you, Chiron?" asked Annabeth. Chiron tried to wave it away but Clarisse and Sherman from the Ares cabin looked at each other. "We'll set up something."

Annabeth agreed. "We'll help you out if you're willing."

All three nodded. Chiron protested, "I don't want anyone to miss their activities and training because of me."

"But Chiron;" asked Percy, "if you die, who will train new heroes?"

The old Centaur smiled with such pride that I felt my heart twinge and warm. "You will - all of you."

Shocked silence followed and Chiron continued. "Many of you are attending college and moving on to other lives but some of you - at least I was hoping, that some of you would carry on the training of future heroes. I am old - older than many of the gods even. While immortality has many blessing, it is also very exhausting. Each year, I find myself getting more and more tired. There will come a time when I must pass on. When that happens, it's up to you to carry on the teaching of future demigods."

That was so sobering that no one else said a thing. Many of the campers looked on the verge of tears. Then Clarisse cleared her throat and said, "Well that can happen when Sherman and I are not around. Annabeth, let's put together a roster. We're looking for volunteers."

Chiron sighed but did not protest. I watched as the senior campers gathered together for an impromptu meeting but I didn't really care for it. I didn't have any other campers in my cabins so I just decided to head off. I was about to take to the woods when I remembered Chiron's orders and cursed beneath my breath. Instead, I went to my cabin and climbed onto the roof of it. For a long time, I just sat there, letting my mind blank out. Suddenly, a silvery light shined next to me and I recognized it. Someone was sending an Iris message. It didn't ask for a drachma so I said, "Iris, goddess of messages and rainbows, show me whoever is trying to contact me."

Immediately, the face of Thalia Grace appeared. "Thals! What's wrong?" I asked anxiously. Thalia looked stressed out. "I don't have a lot of time. Lady Artemis is missing and I don't know what to do. Has she contacted you at all?"

I tried not to snort with mirthless laughter. "Mom decided she wasn't talking to me anymore after you all left. Do you have any clue as to where she went?"

Thalia shook her head. "No! We don't even know where to start looking."

I cursed. "Great! I can't even go look because Zeus is going to give me a quest at the end of the Summer. I need to bring this to Chiron."

Thalia nodded. "Please do. Also, ask him about Zoe Nightshade's stash. In the woods, there is a place where Hunters have been putting supplies -extra arrows, moonwater, clothes, supplies of every kind and a weapon."

I waited but she didn't continue. "Okay so what is this weapon?"

Thalia looked pained. "I can't tell you. Only hunters can know about it. If your mom knew I was telling you, she would be furious. When you find it, contact me."

I frowned. "Why do we need this weapon? Do you know who took my mom?"

"No but if they can take a goddess, they are dangerous - very, very dangerous."

Suddenly, there were voices and Thalia said, "I gotta go. Please, Arthur - do this for me."

The connection was cut and I frowned. I was about to drop down onto the ground when I heard voices. I lowered myself to the roof and crawled towards them. It was Drew and five or so more Aphrodite kids. "He is the best thing to happen to this camp since Percy Jackson;" one of them was saying. Drew snorted. "Please; Percy Jackson doesn't know what he could have if he wanted to, same with Jason Grace. At least he had the sense to fall for an Aphrodite girl even if McLean barely qualifies. But Arthur is utterly unique. There have been children of Zeus, Poseidon and Hades have come around quite a few times in history but there is only one child of Artemis - and it's a boy to boot. I'm going to be the only girl in history to break the heart of a son of a maiden goddess."

I couldn't help but feel a little hurt at that. Turns out that Piper was right. I grinned and decided to put an end to this right now. Dropping onto the ground, I said, "Evening, ladies."

They all started and Drew said, "Arthur!"

She began to stammer and I just waved my hand. "Forget about it. It makes sense now that I think about it. I mean, seriously, why would a - what, seventeen or eighteen year old girl, want to do with a fifteen going on sixteen year old boy. Besides, Piper McLean gave me a heads up."

She was still just stammering and I laughed. "It's okay. The fact that I just smashed your dream removes all hard feelings. Night, girls."


	4. Chapter 4: Roman Invitation

As the days turned to weeks, I found that I was beginning to fit in really well with the other campers. We played capture the flag and, each time, I either lead a group in an advance or scouting party, took off into the woods to harass the opposing teams or teamed with the Apollo kids. I practiced my archery every day, just to be sure I wouldn't lose a step. Most of my training, I focused on spear and sword fighting, especially with a shield. They were my greatest weakness. It was hard though, and not just physically. None of the swords felt right. Percy Jackson explained it. "When I first got here, it was hard to find a sword that was the correct fit. It took Chiron giving this sword, Anaklusmos, to me to finally find the right fit. Come on, let's check out the armory again."

I had looked through it a few times but none of the swords seemed to fit. I would go through one after another, swinging experimentally but then putting the weapon back. "You know what?" said Percy, snapping his fingers. "Come with me - I have an idea."

We went to the big house and the attic. "The Oracle used to dwell here but then Rachel became the Oracle and Apollo gave her the luxury suite in her cave. Heroes still leave tons of old stuff up here. Just maybe we can find a weapon for you."

There were pickled monster heads, broken armor and weapons, odd garments and other miscellaneous items. Some of the weapons were whole. Greek Spatha's, Spears and shields were here and there. Finally, when Percy was getting discouraged again, I pulled a sword from a crate of old battle gear. Like all swords at the camp, it was made of celestial bronze. But it was different than Percy's sword. For one thing, it wasn't a Spatha. It was longer and curved. The cutting edge was on the inside of the blade's curve. I sung it experimentally as I had all the others. Grinning, I said, "This feels great! What is it?"

Percy grinned and said, "That is called a Kopis. It's usually a cavalry weapon or a weapon for a charioteer but if it feels good then lets take it for a spin, back to the arena!"

From that point on, I learned far more quickly. The weapon felt fantastic in my hands. Even so, I doubted I would ever be as good as Jason or Percy or even Hazel or Annabeth. Even Piper McLean was able to disarm me, albeit less easily. Each time she did, I got jeers and taunts from the Ares cabin but it never bothered me. As I had told them before, I couldn't be good at everything. I had my skills, just like everyone else. Percy could wield a sword expertly but couldn't shoot a bow to save his life. I could shoot a bow as well as, if not better than, the best Apollo camper but I was no swordsman.

Even so, I continued to train hard and May turned into June. One night, just a few nights before the full moon, I decided that I was going to break the rules. I grabbed my hunter tent, a sleeping bag, a cot and some food from a fridge I had gotten some of the Hermes kids to acquire for me. Those kids were amazing and would get someone anything for the correct price. They were also responsible for getting me the food that stocked my fridge. Anyhow, I grabbed everything and, as soon as it was dark, I ran to Halfblood Hill, set up my tent and through some magic camo netting over it. That done, I set up my cot inside, made a tiny outside, with the tent between myself and the rest of the camp, cooked some food and began to enjoy. Technically, I still had about an hour and a half until curfew. Suddenly, someone whispered in my ear, "What are you doin'?"

I jumped just slightly and looked around. No one was there! Then, I heard a chuckle and Percy pulled something off his head - a New York Yankees baseball cap or something. Annabeth Chase came around the corner and rolled her eyes, "You are such a child."

She took her hat back and repeated Percy's question. "So... what are you doing?"

I sighed and said, "Well, I was planning on camping out here tonight but I guess the game is up now, right?"

Percy shook his head. "That sounds awesome!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes again, "Percy, the Harpies?"

I chuckled, "You just walked around my tent. I'd be fine in there. The camo netting makes it invisible."

Percy and Annabeth looked impressed. "Hunter equipment, I take it?" said Annabeth. I nodded and they looked at each other. Before Annabeth could say anything, Percy said, "Make you a deal - if we can join you, we won't tell a soul?"

To my surprise, I liked the idea. It was kind of lonely to sleep in my cabin alone every night when everyone else had cabin mates and such. That was probably a little weird since most teenage kids wanted their own space but I had been raised sharing quarters with someone and now, it was still foreign to me to be alone at nights. I felt a little exposed. With a grin, I said, "Yeah sure, but hurry and don't get caught. I'll have some food ready by the time you get back."

"GREAT!" said Percy and they hurried off. Just before they were out of earshot, I heard Annabeth laughing, "Seaweed brain, you just ate a couple hours ago! How can you still be hungry?"

I chuckled as I stirred the pot of stew. When it was all ready, I put the fire out, carried the stew inside, a set out some fruit, bread and other stuff on the table. There was also some soda and water bottles and I plopped down on my cot with a sigh. This could be fun but I really hoped it wouldn't be awkward, roughing it with Camp Halfblood's power couple - well, one of them anyway.

It was only about thirty minutes before Percy and Annabeth returned. They had changed into sweatpants and shirts and carried sleeping bags. Percy looked sheepish. "Okay so I'm sorry about this but Jason and Piper caught us and Piper threatened to charm speak us if we didn't tell her what we were up to. I told them you probably wouldn't mind letting them join along."

I didn't. "The more the merrier; honestly, if a few others joined us, I wouldn't mind but we can only fit about a dozen so don't invite the whole camp."

Percy grinned and Annabeth looked at me sympathetically. "You realize that he will fill this tent to max capacity right?"

I laughed. Sure enough, I was in the tent with Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Leo, Calypso, Nico and Will. I watched as they all chatted and got comfortable, coupled up and discussing past events. I felt like the eleventh wheel at a reunion event but that was okay. I just listened to them all retell stories. These were my heroes after all. Suddenly, Piper called over, "So Arthur, tell us about your hunts with Artemis."

I blushed as ten sets of eyes turned to me. "Oh... well... I mean..."

I stammered and Jason asked, "Where were you during the Titan and Giant Wars? How could you have been with the hunters during that time?"

That was easier to answer. "Well I was still really young. Apparently, my mom and sisters - that is, the hunters, thought that hunting hellhounds and lesser giants and rogue Cyclopes and the like weren't so bad but, oh no, there was no way I was fighting Titans and their armies. I was either with my Grandmother Leto or mom sent me off on hunts for lesser monsters with a hunter or two."

"Leto?" asked Leo, "Who is Leto?"

"Leto is the mother of Artemis and Apollo. She usually lives on the Island of Delos but a lot of times, when I needed a baby sitter, Artemis would have her come and pick me up. That's honestly when I got to experience life outside of being a hunter. She would take a mortal form and take me around - to movies, malls, parks and so on. A few times, Mom sent me with Aunt Britomartis."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Isn't she the goddess of nets and traps and stuff like that?"

I smiled as I thought of the memories. Britomartis had taught me how to fish, how to make nets and traps and how to disarm them as well. Will suddenly chuckled and said, "My dad told me that if I ever met Britomartis to never sit down - or walk or breathe if possible."

I frowned. "Why's that?"

"She's a trickster, he says. She likes playing jokes on him. Of all the hunters, she is the only one that flirts as mercilessly with him as he does with the rest of them."

I chuckled at that. Whenever we met other gods, she flirted a lot and did like playing pranks. "That does sound like her. I dunno, it still seems a little weird talking about her like that. It's funny, every now and again, she'd catch me in a trap and make me escape it just for practice."

There was a little stunned silence and Leo Valdez chuckled, "Sounds like good times."

"Eh, they were pretty fun. If I couldn't get out, she would walk me through it. Anyway, my sister Zoe was always willing to take me when the hunters and my mom had to go on particularly dangerous hunts. The last time..." I felt my heart sink a little. Zoe had died fighting Atlas during the recent Titan War. I had cried for hours when I heard that. "... the last time, my mom really needed Zoe with her. When Artemis returned, she told me that Zoe had died and showed me the constellation."

Everyone went silent and Percy and Annabeth looked at me with sympathetic looks. After some silence, Jason gave an exaggerated yawn and lay back. "Well this is nice. Considering that we have camped a time or two on quests, I never thought that I would enjoy it."

"It helps;" said Percy as he pulled Annabeth even closer to him, "when there aren't monsters, titans and giants trying to kill you."

There was a murmur of agreement amongst the others and I just shrugged. "Normally when I'm camping, I'm chasing the monsters."

They all chuckled at me. It took me a moment to realize how conceited I must have sounded and I blushed. Leo chuckled and said, "Man, the life of a hunter of Artemis must be something. What's it like to live with a bunch of hot chicks?"

I straightened slightly, "Um... what?"

"Come on, man;" laughed Leo, ignoring the half a dozen other demigods trying to wave him off. Calypso had already elbowed him twice but none of it made a difference. "You grew up with forty or fifty hot women?"

I didn't know whether to be offended on the behalf of the Hunters', amused, annoyed or what. After several moments, I smiled. I hoped that it wasn't too tight or anything as I answered, "Imagine growing up with about forty or fifty attractive sisters and someone asked you that. Anyone here have a sister who can back me up here?"

Percy, Jason, Nico, Will and pretty much anyone who had more than one person with them in their respective cabins understood. Leo looked slightly embarrassed. "Never thought about it like that;" he muttered. Calypso elbowed him again and said, "Next time, when I elbow you, that means 'be quiet.'"

"But you're always elbowing me;" protested Leo. Calypso laughed and hugged him fondly as she said, "Yup, I sure am."

Slowly, one couple at a time, we drifted off to sleep. The following morning, we found ourselves in a little bit of trouble. You see, sneaking out to the tent was a breeze. Sneaking back to the cabins was not easy. We tried setting alarms and sneaking back before dawn and it help most of us. However, Annabeth, Leo and those with quite a few siblings who hadn't missed the fact that they were out of their cabins the previous night were suspect. Rumors began to spread and before lunch time, Chiron and Mister D approached me. I wasn't nervous or mad, more resigned than anything.

Chiron looked sternly at me and Mister D just sipped on a diet coke and considered me. "This is a fairly serious problem, Arthur. There are rules for a reason and if we start constantly having a group of our kids sneaking and staying out after curfew, some of them may get into trouble or eaten by the Harpies. Do you understand?"

"I do, Chiron and I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting to be hosting a party last night. I just needed to be more wild and free. I'm a son of Artemis and I can't stay penned up in a cabin. Imagine if you told Percy Jackson he couldn't swim or the Aphrodite kids that they can't flirt."

Chiron looked at Mister D, who simply shrugged and said, "Imagine telling the wine god he can't drink wine."

That stopped me up short for a second before I shrugged and said, "Of course, Mister D, but that was the ruling of the King of the gods."

"And _I_ am ruling that this will not happen again;" said Dionysus sternly. "Understand, Archy Parker?"

I sighed and nodded. "Of course Mister D, I understand."

The camp director proceeded to ignore me and Chiron motioned me out of the big house. "Look, my boy, I know how you feel. It took me quite some time to get used to a more domestic life but here, we need you to abide by the camp's rules."

I nodded and he said, "Thank you, Arthur; now go on and get back to your activities."

I was about to when Jason and Piper ran up. "Chiron, we just received an Iris message from Reyna at Camp Jupiter. They wanted to invite us for a celebration of our victory or Gaia - us seven demigods and representatives from each cabin!"

Chiron smiled and said, "I'll ask Mister D. With enough cajoling, I'm sure I can convince him that it is a worthwhile trip."

Piper squealed happily and Jason was grinning. I was excited too. We chatted excitedly while we waited for Chiron to come out with the verdict. Suddenly, I remembered Thalia's request. When Chiron came out, he was smiling. "Mister D, after some convincing, has decided to allow you to go. We'll gather the campers tonight and make the announcement."

Jason and Piper laughed and whooped. I was grinning ear to ear as they ran off. "Chiron, I need to talk to you about something."

Even despite my excitement about the trip, my mood was dampened. I told him everything and Chiron sighed. "I see. This is disturbing. Let me grab my bow and we can go."

Minutes later, I was riding him as he galloped through the forests, his bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. I was surprised where we stopped. It was a place I could have sworn I had seen before. Chiron grabbed what appeared to be empty air and yanked. One of the hunter's tents appeared. It was bigger than the normal one and nestled right up against a very thick, impassable part of the woods. "Go inside, lad. It was meant for hunters only and, being the only child of Artemis, I doubt anyone would object."

I went inside. There was, as Thalia had said, a ton of supplies. I actually grabbed several bundles of arrows, some moonwater, ambrosia and nectar and searched around for this weapon that she had talked to me about. There were, of course, bows and spears and swords and knives but nothing looked out of the ordinary - until I saw a small hunters horn sitting on the top of a crate. I picked it up and examined it. Frowning, I wondered what kind of weapon this could be. Suddenly, if became a shimmering silver sword. I nearly dropped it in surprise. Thinking, I imagine it as a spear and it changed. I imagined it as a bow, then an ax, then a hunting rifle and it turned into each one. As a hunting rifle, which my father had made me quite familiar with, I checked the internal magazine. It was filled with strange, silvery bullets. And that is when I understood why Thalia needed it. This horn could turn into whatever weapon she would need. I hung it from my quiver, grabbed a few other needed things and then exited. As soon as I did, the net readjusted magically, covering the tent back up and hiding it from sight. Chiron looked grim. "They must be in some serious trouble or expect serious trouble to need that."

I nodded but didn't speak. The temptation was there to keep the weapon for myself but I knew that it wouldn't be right. They would need it far more than I would. We rode back to the camp in silence but the rest of the day seemed subdued and uninteresting or unimportant.

That night at the camp fire, Chiron made the announcement. The seven demigods were as excited as you'd expect. The argument was who would go representing each of the other cabins. Chiron lifted his hands and said, "Please, everyone calm down. Now, the head councilors from each cabin will go. That way, a younger camper will get the opportunity to take on a leadership role. Does anyone have any concerns?"

Clarisse lifted a hand. "Sherman can go and I'll let the next oldest kid take charge of Ares Cabin. I want to be sure that our guard contingent continues their duties properly."

Chiron looked miffed but cleared his throat and said, "Very well. Anything else?"

No one had anything else and Chiron spread his hands with a smile. "Very well, campers. I suggest those leaving pack and get ready. You will be leaving first thing tomorrow morning - right after breakfast."

The campers whooped and dispersed. I myself ran to my cabin and began packing my large duffel bag. It didn't take long. I had lived out of the thing for quite awhile after all. That done, something came to mind and I ran to the Ares cabin. I don't know why I thought Frank would be the best person to talk to instead of Jason or Hazel or even Percy but somehow he seemed best at the moment. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door. To my chagrin, Sarah Bertelly answered the door. As soon as she opened the door, she scowled, "What do you want, Pretty Boy?"

I scowled right back and said, "Not you, clearly; I'm looking for Frank Zhang. Is he around?"

"Maybe;" she said but then Clarisse called from the back. "Sarah, let the pretty boy in. Price, Zhang is in the bathroom sending an Iris message to his boss in the other camp."

Sarah let me in and I called over, "Thanks, La Rue; you aren't so bad, no matter what the other campers say about you."

The big Ares girl stepped out from her area, blocked off with blankets and paracord. She was scowling but I could see some humor in her eyes. "I'm the baddest we have here, you got that, Pretty Boy?"

"Yes, ma'am;" I said, hiding a smile. "Good boy; now go and see Zhang. He should be done soon here."

The inside of the cabin was weird. Other than the fact that it looked like an armory, with weapons on every wall surface and some even hanging from the rafters, each area had blankets hanging up to give the campers some privacy. As I walked through, I saw heads poking out from between the hanging blankets curiously. As I walked towards the back of the cabin, I heard murmurs among some the female cabin members. "Sarah was right; he sure is pretty."

"Yeah he is; not a half bad fighter either."

"Hey Price, want to step inside my AO for a sec?" called one. I stopped and looked at her. AO? "What does AO mean?"

"My personal area; each of these blanketed off areas are called AO's - they mean 'Area of Operation.'"

That just confused me more. "I don't get it. What exactly can you operate in a six foot by eight foot area?"

She grinned wickedly and said, "Step inside and I'll show you."

"The pretty boy has business here other than messing around with you girls;" barked Clarrise. "Price, Zhang's in the bathroom. Go."

I headed that way and saw that the door was open. Inside, I heard Frank say, "Thanks, Reyna; Leo will appreciate it."

"Of course, Frank. It's no trouble. I'll be glad to have you back. Leading the legion isn't easy alone."

"Hey Zhang, I got Arthur Price out here for you;" yelled Sarah. There was a pause and Frank said, "He can come in."

I stepped inside and saw him talking to a pretty girl in roman battle armor with a purple cape. "This is the guy I was telling you about, Reyna. He's the one who's going to need to stay until Jupiter comes and gives him the details of his quest."

Reyna studied me for a moment, her face expressionless. "I'm Reyna, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion; it's a pleasure to meet you."

I offered a smile that I hope was friendly, yet respectful. "I'm Arthur Price, son of Artemis. The pleasure's all..." but I stammered to a stop. I couldn't believe that I had just told her that. "A son of Artemis, you say?" said Reyna, her voice still dispassionate. "That must be an interesting story, especially considering your reaction to letting it slip."

Frank lifted a finger and said, "Wait a second now, Reyna; the goddess Athena had kids and stilled maintained her maidenhood. Artemis did the same, though I'm still not sure how. The point is, this guy is a good fighter and the best hunter and archer I've ever met."

Reyna nodded, still considering me. "There are going to be some who look down on you, Arthur Price. Romans take voice of maidenhood very, VERY seriously. Prepare yourself for that."

I felt a smile cross my face and I went cold inside. "Perhaps they should listen to what I have to say before they draw conclusions."

Reyna actually smiled slightly. "In an ideal world, they would, but you know how people are. When you get to New Rome, I would like to have a private discussion with you where you can tell me more about yourself. Will that be acceptable?"

I nodded. "That will be just fine, Praetor."

"Excellent. Now I must go. Take care, Gentlemen;" and the connection was cut. I stood there, apparently glaring into nothing because Frank said, "Don't worry about it, buddy. Reyna isn't going to judge you for your mother and she isn't prone to jumping to conclusions."

I started and said, "Oh, yeah. Thanks, by the way. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about, too. I know that the Romans worship Dianna but I was wondering what to expect and how to handle it. I guess I have my answer now."

"Don't worry about it, Arthur. At the end of the day, Romans respect merit and recommendation. With Jason, Hazel, Percy and me backing you up, you definitely have the recommendations covered and I seriously doubt you have to worry about the merit either."

That made me feel at least a little better. "Thanks, Frank. Now I should go. We aren't far from curfew. We can't have another lecture from Chiron or else he may not let me go."

Frank chuckled as we walked back through, ignoring the comments of the Ares campers as we passed. "Get some sleep, Arthur; it's gonna be a couple days of driving to get to Frisco and that much driving is exhausting."

I nodded. Just as I opened the door to leave, I heard someone, a girl, from the back yell, "Hey, Pretty Boy, come back and visit sometime."

As the door closed behind me and I was blushing like mad, I started jogging back to my cabin.


	5. Chapter 5: We Head Across Country

The sun wasn't even up when we were all gathered around a rented bus. I had my duffel bag on my back as we clustered and waited to be told to board. It wasn't a long wait and a middle aged man with a military style hair cut opened the door to the bus and yelled gruffly, "Alright, listen up, kids - my name is Trevor Deran and I'm a veteran of the Twelfth Legion and at the request of the Senate of New Rome, I have come here to pick you up since your camp can't be without your head of security Argus and none of you can drive a bus. There are a few you need to know; first, there will be no crazy horse play on my bus. It's distracting and not befitting demigods of your age and training, even if you aren't Roman. Second, we will be making several twenty minute stops throughout each day. I highly suggest that you use the facilities and get something to each. We will stop for two meals before stopping for the night and it's going to be a four day drive. Third and finally, all meals and lodging will be on the Legion. Congrats because this never happened when I was in the Second Cohort. Now, load up!"

He stepped back from the door and we all loaded up. The last to get on, to my surprise, was Coach Hedge. Trevor Deran looked at him with hard eyes. "Didn't know we were having a Faun coming with."

"Satyr!" snapped the coach, "and I'm the Protector that Chiron assigned to this trip."

Trevor grunted and indicated the seat next to his.

I went all the way to the back of the bus and scooted in before leaning my head back and going back to sleep. When I woke up, I found that I was sharing a seat with Hazel and Frank, both of whom were still passed out cold. Hazel was snuggled up to Frank, hugging his arm like a teddy bear. I chuckled and leaned back to sleep some more but I couldn't so I looked out the window. Must have been sleeping for some time because we were only a few miles from Pennsylvania. As I gazed out, the bus pulled off the highway and went to a truck stop. I expected it to be busy but I wasn't expecting a huge convoy of military trucks and a bunch of tough looking soldiers milling around, drinking borderline toxic energy drinks, smoking cigarettes and laughing as they lounged by there trucks or exited the store with bags of snacks and drinks. I nodded respectfully as I walked by, held the door for a pair of them as they went inside. Valentina Diaz, the Aphrodite camper who came along since Piper apparently didn't count and Drew had no desire to go to New Rome, giggled and said, "Wow... there really is something about men in uniform."

I chuckled as I went to the restroom. Once the necessaries were taken care of, I grabbed some snacks and a six pack of cream soda. Once I had paid, I headed back out to the bus. Coach Hedge and Trevor were arguing amiably, chuckling and laughing about mix martial arts or something so I just leaned against the truck and began to munch on a cliff bar and sip on cream soda. Valentina came over and I offered her one. "No thanks; too many calories for me. Mind if I sit with you? I feel awkward sitting next to Piper and Jason."

I grimaced and said, "I wouldn't mind but Frank and Hazel..."

"Oh, we're moving to a bench closer to the middle of the bus. Apparently there were some empty ones;" said Hazel, surprising me as she walked up. I smiled at Valentina and said, "Well there you go; seat's yours."

We all loaded back up and Valentina said, "Alright, I'm gonna try and get some more sleep."

She leaned back and I looked out the window. For the next several hours, I look out the window. It was so beautiful in the mountains. I wished that I could run among the trees and peaks and hunt the deer and the bears that were there. Looking up, I saw a hawk or eagle soaring over and felt jealous. I wished that I could be that free. With a sigh, I leaned back against the seat. Valentina leaned over and rested her head on my shoulder and I felt tingles going up and down my spine. With a smile, I leaned back and rested my head against the seat back. I must have nodded off again because when I woke, I found that my cheek was rested on the top of Valentina's head. Across the ile, Percy and Annabeth were snuggled up. Annabeth was snoring softly but Percy was grinning at me and shot me a wink. I blushed and leaned my head back. Again, I woke up for our next stop with my cheek resting on her head. "Hey, Valentina, we're at our next stop. I think it's lunchtime too."

Valentina lifted her head and yawned. "Thanks; I really need to go to the bathroom."

We piled out and I had to stretch out. Percy came up and nudged me. "I noticed you and Val were getting pretty cozy."

I grumbled something to the effect of, "I can't control what my head does when I'm asleep;" and headed towards the station. Trevor Deran was yelling, "Alright, go in and order whatever you want for lunch and I'll take care of the bill."

I stretched out a little more and headed in. The restaurant was just a big diner type place for truck drivers. They served burgers and fries and sandwiches and onion rings and the like. I grabbed a booth and Percy and Annabeth slid in across from me. To my mild surprise, Valentina slid in next to me and said, "Alright, what should we get?" as she perused a menu.

Lunch was fantastic. I had a couple of big burgers, a huge stack of fries and iced tea. Percy had the same and the girls both laughed at us. "Where does it all go?" asked Valentina, who was eating a sandwitch and munching on fries. Annabeth shook her head. "I stopped asking that years ago. Boys eat a stupid amount."

I chuckled. "Thalia always laughed at me because of how much I ate."

After lunch, I headed back out to the truck and had to stop. In the parking lot were two men leaning against motorcycles and watching all of us demigods. I didn't like the look of them. One of them smiled at another and I know that I saw fangs. Quietly, I went to Coach Hedge and Trevor Deran and pointed them out. "They're just a couple of bikers;" dismissed the truck driver. "I don't think so, Sir. They have fangs and they smell weird."

Coach Hedge sniffed the air and said, "All I can smell is that diner, kid. You sure about them?"

"No but I am sure they're bad news. We should load everyone up as soon as possible."

Trevor studied me for a moment before saying, "Well as soon as they're done eating, I'll give them five minutes. Even if those guys are up to no good, they aren't going to attack a group of war trained demigods."

I agreed there but even so, I headed back in and told Percy, Jason and the other, older demigods just so that we had a couple of people ready. Within five minutes, we were loaded up and on our way.

* * *

The rest of the four day trip was pretty uneventful. Each stop had people, monsters or mortals, who were watching us but never engaged us in any way. When we finally made it to camp Jupiter, Percy Jackson nudged me and said, "You're gonna love this."

I agreed. I could see the city of New Rome in the distance and the fortifications of Camp Jupiter as well. Approaching from the fort of Camp Jupiter came a large formation of Roman soldiers with standards and a golden eagle. I was suddenly weary. Having a large contingent heavily armed and armored soldiers marching towards you will have that effect. At the head of the cohort marched a young woman, probably seventeen or eighteen, wearing a purple cloak over her armor and with an imperial gold sword at her waist. "Demigods, over here;" called Jason to the rest of us. We clustered haphazardly together while Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel and Leo stood in front of the rest of us.

The young woman called a halt to her cohort before marching right up and embracing the seven heroes one at a time and greeting them. That done, she raised her hands and said, "Greek demigods of camp Halfblood, welcome to New Rome and Camp Jupiter. I am Praetor Reyna Ramirez-Arellano of the Twelfth Legion of Rome."

Frank, who had changed right after getting off the bus, went over and stood next to her, towering over her in his own armor and cloak. Reyna smiled at him before continueing. "Praetor Zhang and Centurion Levesque will bring you to the guest quarters prepared for you within the Fort so that you can keep your weapons. However, within the city limits, you must be unarmed. No swords, bows, knives, spears or anything. Once you have settled in your quarters, please come to the forum in New Rome. Remember, leave any and all weapons behind. Praetor Zhang, Centurion Levesque, please show them to their guest quarters."

We followed Frank and Hazel and found that it was set up two to a room. I was with Sherman Yang from the Ares cabin, which made me groan. That whole cabin had it out for me. To my surprise, he was fairly amiable. "Hey Price, I'm taking this one, that alright with you?" he asked gruffly. "Fine with me; I'm not picky."

Sherman grunted and asked, "Can you believe that we're required to give up our weapons? It's crazy!"

I shrugged and said, "Well it doesn't surprise me. There is, apparently, a history of assassination in Roman politics so keeping people unarmed is a must. Even so, I'm gonna be uncomfortable not having at least a knife on me."

Sherman nodded as he leaned his spear, shield and sword against the wall. I myself had to lay down my sword, bow, quiver, knives and tomahawk. That done, we both headed out to meet the others. Hazel and Frank were wearing purple t-shirts with the letters SPQR on them and purple togas. Jason wore a white robe over his and a wreath of lorals on his head. The three of them led all of us towards the city and at the line, a bust of a Roman dude stood. "Greetings, visitors - Greeks if I'm not mistaken. Welcome to New Rome. I am Terminus, the god of borders and boundaries. You must all be unarmed before you enter the city limits and please have your identifications ready."

We all looked at each other in confusion until Percy, Jason, Hazel and Grace handed out small lead tablets. "These are a variant of the probatio tablet - basically declaring you beginners as members of the Legion. Ware them around your neck with your bead necklaces."

That done, they marched through what at a time. The statue god said as each went through. "Praetor Zhang, welcome; Centurion Levesque, good to see you again. Ah, Pontifex Grace, glad to have you back. I must say that I appreciate the shrine you built. It's quite gorgeous. Former-Praetor Jackson, welcome back; still have the sword in your pocket?"

Percy blushed and said, "Crap! Yup, here it is Terminus. Sorry about that."

"Quite fine, my boy; Julia take the man's pen, please;" said the statue and a very young girl of perhaps seven or eight in pig tales ran up with a metal tray like those seen in the airport. She looked adoringly at Percy. "Hi Percy;" she squeaked shyly. That reminded me too; my harmonica was still in my pocket. As we went in one at a time, Terminus identified us and greeted us very politely by name and by our godly ancestor. As I stepped up, he said, "Arthur Price, son of..." and then went slack jawed. Internally, I groaned. Clearing his throat, Terminus said rather frostily, "Son of Dianna, do you have any weapons?"

"Yes, my lord, here;" and I placed my harmonica next to Percy's pen. Terminus frowned, "Very impressive, a celestial bronze boar spear. You may enter, son of Dianna."

The way he said 'son of Dianna' sounded like an insult, as if I should be ashamed of it. Even though I understood why he spoke to me this way and even though I expected it, I still felt my jaw clench. I followed the group with a scowl on my face until Hazel patted my arm. "Don't worry, Arthur; they'll get used to you and once you prove your merit, they'll be able to look passed the fact that you are the son of Dianna."

I smiled and thanked her as we entered the forum. A group of demigods and legacies in togas sat in seats as we filed in. Most of the senators had dispassionate looks on their faces but a few were quite obviously displeased at our presents. Even so, one of them said, "Welcome, demigods of Camp Halfbood! We are pleased to welcome you to our home and eagerly await our celebration of the victory against Gaia and the giants. They will begin tonight and games, feasting and plays will take place. One of the Centurions of the Legion will go around looking for participants in the events. We hope that you find your accommodations satisfactory."

They all clapped and Annabeth and Percy nodded respectfully before the former cleared her throat and said, "Thank you for your most warm and gracious welcome, Senators. We were very gratified and excited to hear that we were invited to the victory celebration of the Giant War. We are eager to get to know our Roman brothers and sisters and hope that we can strengthen the bonds between us."

Suddenly one of the senators stood. "The bonds between us? What bonds do we have, Greek? Your presents here is an insult to those who came before us!"

He was shouted down by the other senators and the hard looks from both Frank and Reyna seemed to cow him. "Our bonds;" answered Annabeth calmly, "are our ties to the gods. Their names and personalities may be different but even so, they are the same gods. Zeus and Jupiter, Mars and Ares, Venus and Aphrodite - they are the same."

Reyna smiled and stood. "Annabeth Chase is correct. It is time to bury all of the bad and bloody history between Greeks and Romans and to bridge the gap and meet in peace and celebration."

Again, many of the senators clapped. Finally, Jason lifted his hands and said, "Greeks and Romans, I firmly believe that the gods will smile on this celebration. I recommend that sacrifices are made at each and every alter, giving thanks to the gods."

Percy grinned and said, "Great idea; now enough of this, let's party!"

Annabeth elbowed him and his friends snickered. The senators dismissed them all and we headed back to our rooms to rest awhile. Just before I laid down, there was a knock on the door. Frowning I went to it and found Reyna there waiting. "I was hoping we could have that private conversation now, if that's okay;" she said. I nodded and called over, "A Sherman, I'm going out."

He grunted back drowsily and I closed the door behind me. At first, we made small talk about the trip, the weather and the wonders of New Rome and Camp Jupiter. We headed back to the city and walked the streets. After a pause and Reyna had bought us both the best hot chocolate I'd ever had, I sighed and said, "I take it that now, you would like to talk about me and my mother?"

Reyna smiled and said, "Only if you feel comfortable enough to do so. I understand that it is quite the personal matter."

We went to a park bench facing a beautiful fountain. Across the park, I noticed Percy and Annabeth walking hand in hand on a romantic walk. After a pause, I gathered my thoughts and said, "The way my father and mother told it, I was made from a mixture of ash, fire, my father's blood and my mother's ichor. I was not created or conceived the traditional way."

Reyna nodded in understanding. "So you are similar to the children of Minerva, or your Athena. How is it that your father managed to crack through the hard and frankly anti-men exterior of Diana?"

I chuckled and said, "Honestly, I'm not completely sure. This is going to sound bizarre, but I think that she didn't love him romantically. I think she grew to love him as a very close friend. The last time we spoke, she even compared their relationship to that of her relationship with Apollo, her brother."

Reyna sipped her drink before asking, "How did that work? I was always under the impression that Artemis hates men."

"It's far more accurate to say that she does not trust men. Every time she opened up, they proved less than trustworthy. Well my father couldn't break her trust."

Reyna blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

I sighed and replied, "He was a war veteran and suffered an injury that rendered him unable to have kids or even... well..."

Reyna chuckled and lifted a hand, "I got it. So because he was unable to break her trust, she was willing to do so."

"Exactly; well one night, on one of her visits, my mom found my father in a state of depression. He had received word that a family member was pregnant with another child. My father really, REALLY wanted children and couldn't do to his war injury. Because of that, my mother spoke to Zeus, Hera and Aphrodite, asking if it were possible for it to happen. I was Olympus's most closely guarded secret on Olypmus. Only my mother, the three afore mentioned gods and Apollo know who I am thus far. Well, that's not completely true. There are a few minor gods and goddesses who know but they keep it to themselves. Anyhow, my father killed a yearling and sacrificed it to Artemis in the fire. Using a knife, they cut themselves and dribbled blood and ichor on the burning meat. The way my dad told it, the fire suddenly went out and in the cold ashes lay me."

Reyna nodded, her face expressionless. Finally, after a long minute, she said, "So Diana is still a maiden goddess."

I nodded and sipped my chocolate. Another long silence before Reyna stood and said, "You have an interesting story, Arthur. Not everyone will believe it."

I shrugged and said, "I don't much care what people believe. Anyhow, is there anything else you wanted to know?"

"Yes;" she said with a small, amused smile, "Are you participating in the games?"

I thought about that. "What competitions are there?"

She pulled a list from one of her pockets and read off the list. "Chariot races, gladiator fights, unarmed combat, foot races, javelin throwing, archery..."

"There you go;" I said with a grin. "Yes, I'll participate in the archery competition."

Her smile became even more amused. "I'll let the organizers know for you so that you can go and get some rest. The competition will be this evening and you will have quite the challenge."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "No disrespect to your demigods because I'm sure there are some fine archers among them but I doubt that."

"Oh it's not just our legionaries you have to worry about, Arthur. My sister and a couple dozen of her best warriors will be here before the end of the day."

My mouth dropped open as I remembered Reyna's sister from what Thalia Grace told me about the war. "Your sister?" I gulped. "Yes;" she said with a laugh. "Queen Hylla and her Amazons;"

* * *

After a good nap and a wash, we all gathered up and were led by Jason, Percy, Hazel and Frank to where the celebration was being held. First, Reyna gave another welcome speech, reiterating her warm feelings to the Greek demigods and also introducing her sister. Hylla Twice-Kill as she was known to the Romans and their friends, was a woman in her early twenties and was fiercely beautiful. She was a warrior through and through wearing a suit of light golden armor and a golden belt. She stood and lifted a glass with a nod towards Hazel, Frank and Percy in turn. When all the introductions and welcomes were offered, Reyna's amused smile returned and she said, "Our first contest is about to begin. Will all those who are going to participate in the archery competition rise, prepare your weapons and get into the designated lines, please."

Aside from myself, Frank Zhang, a dozen and a half other legionaries and three Amazons were participating in the contest. The way the contest was conducted was that we each fired three arrows at a target roughly twenty-five feet away - a very easy series and no one was eliminated. The target was pushed out to fifty feet and so on until the target was a hundred and fifty feet away when a few of the legionaries managed to miss the bull's-eye with at least one arrow of their three shots. With each proceeding round, another competitor was eliminated, another legionary, one of the Amazons and so on until the target was at six hundred and fifty feet out and it was myself, an Amazon, Frank Zhang and two other legionaries. I carefully drew, aimed and fired one shot after another. Two more legionaries were eliminated and I looked over at Frank. He was sweating and looked nervous. For me, another fifty yards wouldn't be too much trouble. I looked around and saw that the Amazon was studying me. She was of medium height and looked to be about a hundred thirty-five pounds with none of it being excess fat. Well, okay so maybe some of it was but, trust me, it was only in the best places. Any, she had red hair, blue eyes and used a compound bow, a nice modern one with all kinds of attachments and I was actually impressed with it, though I didn't use them myself. As a son of Artemis, it would take all the fun out of archery and hunting. When she noticed that I had caught her looking, she gave a coy smile and walked over to the dividing line. "I've gotta say, I'm pretty impressed. You're a good shot for a male."

I cocked a brow and said, "Wow, aren't you a sweetheart? I like your bow by the way. Is it custom made?"

She offered it to me and answered, "Yup, made for me by a son of Hephestus back at the Amazon headquarters; he really knows his way around weapons like this. How about yours? What's it draw weight?"

I grinned and shrugged as I offered her a chance to check out my bow. It was six and a half feet long and recurved yew wood. "A hundred and twenty-five pounds is the weight."

"Woah..." she said, her eyes wide. She struggled to pull the bow back but only managed a half draw. Shaking her head, she traded my bow back to me for hers. "That takes a powerful set of arms and shoulders there. Oh, looks like the targets are set. May the best..." and she paused, smiling even more coyly, "archer win."

I grinned right back and went to my mark. I put three shots in the center of the target. So did she. The target was moved. I put three arrows in the center of the target - and so did she. When the targets were three hundred yards away, it was just myself and this Amazon left. The light was fading and the judges - the two Praetors, as well as Pontifex Jason Grace and Hylla the Amazon Queen, huddled together to try and end the competition. After quite some time of deliberation, they called a legionnaire over and whispered to him before turning to face me and the other remaining competitor. "We will have only one more round. You will each fire one arrow, your goal, to put out the candles out there. They are four hundred yards out. May the best archer win."

The Amazon was studying the tiny, flickering golden red glow and I decided that I was going to prove a point. Pulling two arrows from my quiver, I drew, paused, aimed carefully and fired. It was three seconds before both candles winked out. Silence followed as all eyes turned to me. I turned to the judges and Reyna cleared her throat before saying, "While I appreciate the skill demonstrated, I personally consider that pour sportsmanship, Arthur Price. Re-light the candles and this time, please refrain from putting out your opponent's target."

I nodded and we waited. When the candles were lit again and we were told to proceed, I aimed and fired at my candle and the flame puffed out. I turned and watched just as the Amazon did the same. We waited... and waited... and after ten seconds, we all concluded that she had missed. Reyna and the judges stood and Reyna declared, "Arthur Price is the victor. Well shot, Archer."

A loral wreath was placed on my head and, after I had returned my bow and quiver to my room.

The feast was amazing. Invisible wind spirits carried food and drink of every kind to and frow. People lounged around in groups and some went from group to group, chatting, laughing, drinking and, in the case of the Amazons, flirting with the male demigods. I wanted to put my wreath in my room but Reyna said that I had to wear it the entire night. I sat on a couch, eating cheese and crackers and sipping on soda when the three Amazons who had participated in the archery contest all plopped down onto the couch on either side of me, coy smiles and fluttering eyelashes more than evident. "So..." said one of them, "... your name is Arthur Price, right?"

I cleared my throat and said, "That's right; I'm at a bit of a disadvantage. You know my name but I don't know any of yours?"

They stated their names were Sheena, Britney and Danielle. It was Danielle who had made it to the final round. All three of them were very attractive, especially, in my opinion, Danielle. Sheena and Britney were older than I was by a year or two and Danielle was within a couple weeks of me. "That bow looked heavy;" said Sheena. Danielle nodded and said, "Oh it was; the draw weight was a hundred and twenty pounds. I couldn't even draw it back."

I was blushing and one of them said, "Let me feel your arms."

"What?" I stuttered and she put both hands around my biceps. I was blushing cherry red as she all but purred, "Wow! Who needs a bow and arrows with guns like these?"

"O-kay then;" I said, trying to stand, "Leaving so soon?" asked Britney, who grabbed my upper arm and held me down gently. "We were just getting acquainted."

"A little more than acquainted, I think;" I murmured as I allowed myself to be pulled down. Percy and Jason were chuckling when they stopped up short next to us. "Nice shooting, Arthur; you look like you're enjoying yourself;" said the former with a grin. I shot them both pleading looks and thought as hard as I could, "Help me!"

Unfortunately, telepathy was not one of my strengths and they walked on by while Sheena, Britney and Danielle moved closer. "So... do you have a special someone back at Camp Halfblood, or maybe here in New Rome and Camp Jupiter?" asked Britney. I shook my head and stuttered something very clear, cool and distinct like, "Nuh-uh..."

"I see; well have you ever been to Seattle, Washington? It can be gloomy and rainy but I bet you would warm the place right up. You should come and visit us and stay awhile."

I fidgeted and said, "Wait a second; I always thought you guys hated men - kinda like the Hunters of Artemis."

Danielle smiled and caressed my hand. "A common misconception; we do not hate men. On the contrary, we like men - really like men. We just think that men have a place and need to be put in it. Most men are really not all that impressive, mediocre warriors and mediocre at just about everything except for some kinds of labor or work. You, however, might have the chance to be a Gargarean with your skill as an archer."

I frowned. Gargarean? "What's a Gargarean?"

"In ancient times, there was a city of men who we called the Gargareans. Once a year, we would get together and celebrate and nine months later, lots of pregnant Amazons would be walking around the city. Now a days, men who really earn our respect and prove that they are strong, wise and trustworthy are called Gargareans. They usually marry an Amazon."

"Uh-huh;" I said, beginning to feel really nervous. "So what do you think?" purred Britney. "Do you think you could be one?"

I didn't know how to answer her and was begin to tremble in anxiety. These girls were really beginning to make me never. "Even if you aren't?" cooed Sheena, "I think you'd make an orange jumpsuit and metal collar pretty hot."

"Ladies, if you didn't notice, you're scaring the pour boy;" came an amused voice. We all looked and Queen Hylla stood there with a cup in her hand and an amused smile on her face. They stood and bowed and I suddenly exhaled a breath I had no idea I was holding. Quickly I stood to my feet as well and moved away from them and Hylla laughed. "Don't worry, Arthur. When we visit my sister's home, we abide by her customs. You have no need to fear being slapped into a collar and an orange jumpsuit. I'd be careful wandering too far away, though. When you exit this place, all bets are off and my warriors will try to take you."

"Hylla, behave yourself;" said Reyna though I could tell she was holding back laughter. "You are scaring Arthur even more than these three did. Pay no attention to them, Arthur; they're just being shameless flirts."

I was still blushing but I managed a smile and said, "I'm really not used to this much attention."

Hylla nodded and said, "Britney, Sheena - attend me please."

They pouted but obeyed their queen, leaving me alone with Danielle. "So... where were we?" she asked with a bat of her eyelashes. Since it was just her and me now, I felt a little less nervous. Again, I sat down, grabbing a couple slices of buffalo chicken stuff crust pizza from a passing tray and offering her one. "My favorite;" she said. Music began to play as we talked and several couples began standing and dancing in an open area. Percy and Annabeth were the first on the dance floor followed by Leo and Calypso. I watched as one couple after another and no shortage of single individuals went over. Suddenly, Danielle grabbed my hand. "Come on and dance with me, Gargarean."

I tried to protest but it didn't do me any good at all. She yanked me into the dance area and we began to dance. She didn't hold back, dancing as close as possible and even wrapping her arms around me and using her hands to place mine on her hips. At first, I was very uncomfortable but it quickly became fun and I started to really enjoy it. Danielle wasn't complaining either. Suddenly, the song became slow and she wrapped her arms around my neck again. I couldn't tare my eyes from hers. In the almost-full moon, she looked absolutely beautiful. After I don't even know how many songs, I croaked, "I need to get a drink of something and get a little space."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

I smiled and said, "I was born in the Rockies and I love the wild, open places. I get anxious when in a crowd for too long."

"Can I join you?" she asked and I was more than happy to let her. We slipped out and headed towards the temples on Temple Hill. There were at least four that were currently under construction and two that were currently being repaired. "It's a beautiful night;" she murmured. I agreed. I didn't really know what to say but then, I stopped by the shrine to Diana. It was small, about the size of a one car garage with a shrine. I pulled a package of crackers I had absconded with and put them in the burning brazier. "Why do you sacrifice to Diana specifically?"

"She's my mother;" I replied in a quiet murmur. Her eyes widened. "I thought that they were being symbolic or metaphorical because of your skill. I didn't know they were serious."

I smiled and shrugged. "Athena, the Romans' Minerva, has had children and maintained her maidenhood. Artemis did the same, albeit in a different way. It's a bit of a story."

She was quiet before she said, "I'm a daughter of Mars, myself. You know, when Rome conquered Greece, sometimes I wonder if Ares knocked out Athena and stole all of her military aspects and became smarter and more strategic."

I chuckled at that. It sounded about right. Across the years, I saw my mom's two aspects - Greek and Roman and they weren't all that different. In fact, the only difference was that Diana was every bit as much warrior as she was hunter. Artemis was mostly a hunter. After the crackers burned down, we went and laid in the grass between two temples, talking about nothing and looking at the beautiful constellations late into the night.


	6. Chapter 6: I Get Caught in a Net

The next few days of the celebration were great! I was convinced, through much pleading and rationalization by Annabeth, Percy, Piper and the Amazon Danielle, to participate in the unarmed combat arena, in the gladiator fighting and even in the one on one fighting matches. I don't know how, but I'm almost certain that Danielle made sure that I was pitted against her at some point in each event. In that manner, she took her revenge on me in every way for beating her at archery. Each time, she clobbered me and eliminated me from the competition. She was much better with a sword and at unarmed combat and during the gladiator fight, a large team based event where the Greek team faced the Romans and the Amazons in a three way melee, she actively sought me out and, with a big grin, disarmed me and pinned me under her, he sword at my throat. Even so, I bore her no hard feelings. She was better than me and I could accept that. Indeed, she promised to teach me more tricks after sweetly telling me that I should try on an orange jump suit and collar. She had said that while she looked down at me after each time that she had trounced me.

My friends were much more gracious about my losses, patting my back and shoulders and telling me that I had done really well considering that Danielle was an Amazon daughter of Mars. I just shrugged and smiled and took my seat and watched the contests.

Aside from the games, there was also a lot of eating and dancing and listening to music and the like. The eating and music continued even after the games were over and I couldn't help but wonder if it would go on until I was called upon by Zeus. Either way, it sure was a good time.

After the gladiator matches, I sat on a couch and sipped some coffee. All the Greek half bloods were easily mingling with the Romans and Amazons. There was no hostility at all. That was thanks, no doubt, to the fact that Jason and Percy were both half bloods accepted by both camps. They moved from couch to couch with their girlfriends, joking, laughing and celebrating with all and sundry. No one seemed to care whether they were Greek or Roman or whatever.

I myself was largely ignored unless it was someone who wanted to talk about archery or about how horribly I sucked at fighting with a sword. I tried not to let it bother me and, for the most part, I was successful for the most part. Suddenly, a group of Roman demigod legionaries came up to me and demanded, "Is it true that you are the son of Dianna, maiden goddess of the hunt?"

I knew that this would be a problem at some point in time. Grabbing a chunk of cheese and some bread from a passing tray, I took a bite before saying calmly, "Yes, it is true. I am the son of the goddess Artemis and the mortal, Scout Price."

One of them, the leader of the group, crossed his burly arms. "I think you're lying! Dianna, or Artemis - whatever she calls herself, would never break her vows of maidenhood. It is the worst possible offense for a maiden goddess."

I nodded as I swallowed another bite. "It's true. However, Minerva, as you call her, has had many children, hasn't she? She is still a maiden goddess."

"That's different; she has the ability to form children with her thoughts and the thoughts of her lovers. Dianna cannot do that."

My eyes widened. "I see! I did not know that you were so familiar with the power of the Huntress. You seem to know more about her than I do! Please tell me more about the goddess Artemis."

The Roman demigod narrowed his eyes. "I think you're just a liar - a mortal who can see through the mist or maybe a son of Apollo or Cupid or another of the archery gods."

Slowly, I stood to my feet and looked him in the eye. "Careful;" he growled, "you and I both know that you aren't all that good at any sort of real fighting. All you're good for is shooting your bow."

"Really, you think you could beat the Amazon, Danielle? I doubt that any of you would have lasted any longer. She is a daughter of Mars. Who are your godly parents? You never mentioned it."

The instigator of this debacle smiled coolly. "My godly parent is Mercury."

"Hermes;" I said. "Interesting. Anyhow, this conversation is boring me. I'm going out for fresh air. Enjoy the party."

I turned and walked away. The moon was full outside and I could just feel it. The energy, the giddiness was on me as it had been before and had to run. Before I could take off, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and was surprised to see Danielle. "Have you been avoiding me, Arthur?"

I frowned. "No; why would I be avoiding you?"

"'Cause you were embarrassed that I kicked your butt so many times;" she replied with a smirk and her hands on her hips.

I shrugged. "Nope, doesn't really bother me. Besides, I thought you were ignoring me."

"Why?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Thought maybe you were hanging out with your Amazon friends or maybe challenging some demigods to an arm wrestling match or something. Anyhow, I need to go. It's a full moon and I want to run in the moon beams."

She laughed at me. "You are so weird!"

"I can live with that. See you later."

I took off running, grinning and laughing as I did. It was exhilarating to be able to run under the moon. I just wished that I could hunt. I wanted to stalk some pray or another - a monster or a wild animal. It would truly make the night perfect. I ran through the abandoned streets of New Rome, laughing and grinning. I imagined that, if anyone saw me that night, they would think that I had lost my mind. There was a park with a fountain in it that was beautiful in the moonlight so I slowed to walk through it. Unable to help myself, I began to sing quietly, "Oh it's a marvelous night for a moondance with the stars up above in your eyes..."

Yeah, I know - that's absolutely ridiculous but, hey, I couldn't help it. The moon effects me that way. I reached for my harmonica only to remember that I, once again, had to turn it into Terminus and his assistant. I was about to jog on when I heard some whispering down one of the paths. Instantly, old reflexes kicked in and I did my best to fade into the shadows. I didn't sneak towards the whispering voices, instead trying to sneak away but they revealed themselves on the path, looking back and forth with confused looks on their faces.

I didn't recognize the two of them, just a couple of Roman demigods for a romantic late night walk. Not wanting to disturb them, I slipped away, heading towards the city limits. Terminus popped up in front of me. "Don't forget your weapon, Son of Dianna;" he said much more cheerfully than I expected.

"Thank you, sir;" I said as I took my little harmonica out of the tray that Julia held up. I winked at her and handed her a small bag of candy I had snuck out of the celebration with. Julia beamed at me and popped a piece into her mouth.

I turned towards Temple Hill, playing my harmonica as I went. Suddenly, behind me, I heard the patter of feet. Quickly, I spun the harmonica in my hand and it turned into the celestial bronze boar spear. I had no need to however since I saw that it was a rather large group of half bloods from the party. Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Calypso, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Nico, Will and a few others, including Danielle and some Amazons. Since it was only them, I turned my spear back into a harmonica and began to play it again as I sauntered towards Temple Hill. "Hey Art;" called Calypso, "where're you headed?"

I smiled and said, "About to make sacrificse to my mom and my aunt Britomartis. What are you all up to?"

"Apparently the Roman's have adopted fireworks for a celebration too. It must be an American influence on them. We're all going to get good seats."

Frank lifted a hand. "Actually it was the Chinese to first invent fireworks, not the Americans."

"Whatever;" said Leo, "anyhow, I'm interested to see if there shows are as good as the ones Hephaestus cabin puts on at Camp Halfblood."

I nodded. "Save me a good spot and I'll meet you down there."

Suddenly, Danielle split off and said, "I'll meet you guys down there. Who did you say you were sacrificing to besides your mother, Arthur?"

"Britomartis; she's the goddess of traps and fishermen and one of the Hunters of Artemis. In fact, she's the only goddess who took the oath to be a hunter. She's not actually my aunt but I call her that because, if she was, she'd be my favorite. We got into all kinds of trouble when I was younger and my mom would freak out whenever she heard that I was spending extended periods of time with Aunt Britomartis. Anyhow, let me see here..."

It appeared that the shrine to Britomartis was still under construction. The alter itself was complete so I shrugged and put some cheese and bread into the sacrificial fire. The wonderful aroma rose and I murmured, "For you, Aunt; I hope it's pleasing to you and I hope that you are doing well, where ever you are. I can't wait to get to see you again."

We exited the shrine and I didn't even make it ten steps before I stepped on something. "Oh crap!" I muttered before a weighted net swirled around and ensnared me. Luckily, it wasn't filled with poisoned hooks and wasn't covered in sticky goo so I would be able to get out of it fairly easily.

"Are you alright, Gargarean?" asked Danielle anxiously.

Before I could offer a reply, a chuckling voice said, "Oh he's alright, Amazon. Arty will be out in a few minutes. Go ahead, Arthur."

I was already carefully working my way out of the net. It would have taken less time if I had any of my knives on me but I didn't. Grumbling, I carefully extricated myself, "You know, most people just say 'hi' and give each other hugs when they meet. I think you are the only being, god or otherwise, who traps someone, Aunt Brit."

She chuckled and said, "Yes well I've always found other beings, gods and otherwise, to be boring."

I struggled to my feet and there she stood, smiling almost innocently. "Well done, darling. Come on and give your Aunt a big hug."

But I knew better. I knelt down and examined the ground, prodding and tapping at it. It didn't take me long to find the second trap. "Really, Aunty - a Russian anti-tank mine? Would the pressure plate even depress for me?"

Britomartis looked very pleased. She snapped her finger and I knew that the mine was gone. "You are getting better, Arthur. No more traps, I promise. Come here."

I grinned and gave her a hug. I had to be careful because she incorporated nets and even hooks into her clothing. I had once heard my uncle Apollo describe her as an anime character but I had no idea why he said that. She wasn't all _that_ dramatic and her mode of dress, a departure from the other Hunters of Artemis, wasn't _that_ outlandish. "So what have you been up to, Dear?" she asked, throwing an arm around me and angling me towards Dianna's shrine.

I grinned and said, "The Greek demigods were invited here to celebrate the defeat of the Giants a few years back. We had a feast, games and apparently fireworks later too. Now, I'm just making sacrifices to you and mom. Hey, I heard that Thalia and the others haven't been able to find Mom. Have you heard anything from her?"

She looked troubled for a moment before answering, "No, I'm afraid not. The last I heard, she was chasing a lead of a group of mysterious and previously unknown demigods to make sure that they aren't a threat. That was weeks ago though and I haven't heard from her since."

We were both silent until she turned to Danielle. "Hey sweetie, I didn't mean to interrupt your date with my nephew. I hope you don't mind."

"Aunt Britomartis!" I groaned, "it wasn't a date!"

Aunt Brit turned to Danielle with one eyebrow up. "Was it a date, young Amazon?"

She shook her head, still awed apparently.

Aunt Brit smiled and threw an arm around her too. "Well hopefully my nephew will muster up the courage to change that before he heads back to Halfblood Hill. You mentioned fireworks earlier; let's go and watch. I do enjoy fireworks every once and awhile."

After I made the sacrifice to Artemis, we muscled our way through the crowd. When we found them, my friends gave Aunt Britomartis curious looks but the fireworks were beginning to start so they didn't ask for introductions.

The fireworks were every bit as spectacular as they were at Camp Halfblood though they were just a little different. Instead of being all Greek themed like Spartans in armor, triremes with warriors fighting sea serpents and the Olympian gods committing great feats, there were Roman legions battling barbarians or the wolves of Lupa's brood howling and running through the stars with young Roman demigods following. Without a doubt, they were very good.

Aunt Brit had placed herself on my left and Danielle was on my right. As we watched, she leaned in and asked, "I didn't know that your mother was missing. I'm sorry to hear that. I wouldn't worry though. I mean, it's not like you can hold a god or goddess captive."

I looked at her and then whispered into her ear. "You and I can't but another god or goddess could. I'll talk to you about it after the fireworks."

I put it out of my mind as best as I could. She was probably right anyway. My mom had disappeared for months or even years without speaking to the other gods or her hunters. Doubtless she was just on a long and dangerous hunt.

The fireworks lasted over an hour and our ears were ringing when they finally ended. Slowly, we all made our way to our beds. Britomartis had whispered good bye to me and kissed my cheek before disappearing into the darkness as the fireworks wrapped up. My friends asked about her and I explained. Annabeth frowned. "I didn't realize that she had survived so long. Most of the gods taken from other cultures didn't survive the millennia. They just weren't worshipped widely enough by the different Greek societies. Maybe the fact that she became a Huntress helped somehow."

I shrugged, not knowing myself. "Anyhow, I'm glad I got to see her but I was hoping that she would have news of Artemis."

An uncomfortable silence followed. "That's going to be your quest, Arthur;" murmured Percy Jackson. "You're going to need to find her and bring her back."

"We don't know that, Percy;" said Annabeth but she said it without any confidence.

I shrugged. "We'll find out at the end of the Summer. How long are you all staying here?'

"Only a couple of weeks total;" replied Annabeth. "We need to keep up with events at Camp Halfblood and to make sure that the Greek demigods there are progressing with their training."

"But shouldn't someone stay with Arthur? Is it really okay to just leave him here alone?" asked Piper.

I felt slightly miffed and yet, warmed by her concern. I didn't have the energy to say anything though. No one was volunteering anyway. It complete silence, we headed back to our various beds. Danielle walked me all the way back to my barracks room that I shared with Sherman Yang. As we walked, she asked, "So you're expecting a mission from someone. Do you know what it will be?"

I shook my head. "Not a clue. Annabeth and Percy seem to think I'm going to be looking for Artemis."

"But what god or goddess would dare try to capture her? A daughter of Zeus and sister to Apollo would be a very foolish target, wouldn't they?"

And that is what was troubling me. I had no idea who would try to pull that off but it had to be someone powerful and they had to have help.

We were at my barracks and Danielle seemed to be studying me in the moonlight. I didn't to just say 'goodnight' and go inside but I wasn't quite sure what to say. Suddenly, she decided the issue by saying, "Well good night, Gargarean."

I grinned. "Good night, crazy Amazon."

"Oh don't pretend you don't like that I'm crazy;" she laughed. I was about to retort when Sherman growled. "Some of us are trying to sleep, Price."

I whispered, "Sorry, Yang."

Danielle giggled and said, "See you tomorrow, Gargarean."


	7. Chapter 7: My Friends Leave Me

Time flew in New Rome and the night before the demigods of Camp Half-Blood would go home came quickly. A group of us sat at a picnic table, sipping coffee or hot chocolate and conversing casually. I was spacing out, thinking about the prophecy and wondering when I would go and where and what I would be doing in the mean time. A shoulder nudged me, bringing back to the present. "Hey Arthur, you alright?" asked Piper.

I blinked and said, "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. Just lost in thought. Was someone saying something?"

"Nope;" she said, "Just wanted to be sure. So, what are you going to do until Zeus comes?"

That was one of the questions I had been asking myself. "I have no idea. Can I get in on some of that Legion training?"

Jason grimaced. "They could let you but it would be hard. You wouldn't be accepted like those demigods who were led here from the Wolf House by Lupa and her pack. Hey Frank, Hazel, you guys will be staying here when we leave. You think he'll be okay?"

Frank nodded. "I'll vouch for him and I'm sure Reyna will back me up."

"I'll sponsor him myself if I have to;" said Hazel with a grin. "You'll make a fine addition to the Fifth Cohort."

I nodded slowly but something felt wrong about this and I didn't know why. "Here, I'll even write you a letter of recommendation;" said Percy with a grin.

He grabbed a clean napkin and used his pen, saying as he did. "Romans, as your former Praetor I highly recommend that you accept Arthur Price, Son of Artemis, into your legion. He's already got a ton of monster fighting experience under his belt and has spent his entire life hunting monsters. Yours truly, Percy Jackson - Son of Poseidon."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and Jason looked at it before saying, "Here, give me the pen and I'll sign it too."

Hazel and Frank were laughing and shaking their heads. "That's not how that works."

"It isn't?" ask Percy as he passed the napkin to them. "Then how does it work?"

Just then, Reyna and Hylla walked up. The praetor's hard eyes zeroed in on the napkin and she picked it up. Dead silence followed and her eyes flicked to Percy, Jason, Hazel, Frank and me before setting it down and adding her name to the list before walking away.

Hylla just chuckled and followed her younger sister. For a solid two minutes, no one said anything until Percy said, "Well that's settled. You should carry that with you."

I snorted. "I'm not carrying a napkin in my pocket."

Percy looked hurt. "Awe come on, man. We worked hard on this and even got Reyna to sign it."

I laughed, "Sure, and I'll definitely keep it but I'm not going to carry it around. It would get ruined and fall apart. Anyhow, I _do_ appreciate the endorsements though. So, what's on the docket for the rest of the day?"

"Well most of us are packed already," said Annabeth, shooting her boyfriend a meaningful look. "We'll be taking the bus back to Camp Half-blood first thing tomorrow morning. Our Roman brethren are planning one last huge party in the forum tonight with us and with the Amazons. Apparently they'll be heading back to Seattle tomorrow morning too."

Percy grinned. "You and that Amazon gonna become pen-pals?"

I blushed and looked back into my coffee cup. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he said patiently, "are you going to stay in contact with her? She's totally into you, man."

"I really don't think an orange jumpsuit and a metal collar suit me;" I countered.

"Dude, I'm not saying you should move to Seattle and join their super secret underground empire driving forklifts and the like. I'm just asking if you're going to stay in contact with her?"

I hadn't really thought that far ahead. "Eh, I might Iris message her every now and again. I dunno."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Boys!" she said as if it were a curse, "listen, Arthur, if you're going to stay in contact, don't just Iris message her. Write her letters. She can keep those and reread them."

"Wait a sec!" I said, lifting my hands. "I never said that-"

"Yeah, yeah;" she waved it away; "I'm just saying that if you do, write letters, don't just send Iris messages."

I was still blushing and apparently, they all found it quite amusing.

The party was even bigger and more energetic than any of the previous nights had been. There were no contests or games, just lots of laughter and dancing and eating and drinking. I was getting slightly overwhelmed and tried to stick to the outer edge of the crowds. Dancing in one of the groups, Danielle spotted me and motioned me over to her. I shook my head, trying to convey my unease in large groups using hand motions. Rolling her eyes she danced her way through the crowd. When she got to me, she said, "What's the matter? Don't you want to dance?"

"I don't feel comfortable in crowds;" I said.

Danielle laughed and said, "I guess that doesn't surprise me. Well you have to join in the fun somehow! You're acting weird!"

I blushed and she grabbed my hand, pulling me towards a group of mixed Romans and Amazons. They were talking and laughing together, some of the Amazons flirting and boasting with the demigods. When we got there, several of the Amazons turned and considered us. "Hey, it's the champion archer!" said one of the Amazons with a big smile. "Where have you been hiding? We could have used some eye candy."

I blushed and managed to say, "What, with all the fine demigod specimens running around?"

Laughter and even a few catcalls were heard before one of the Roman's said, "So you're a son of Dianna. How does that work?"

"What?" I asked, suddenly taken aback and cautious.

"How does that work? Dianna is sworn to be a maiden goddess. Yet, here you are. How did that happen?"

I felt my ears turning red as over a dozen pairs of eyes turned to me. Clearing my throat, I said, "All that it takes for a life to be created is for two beings to give a little of themselves - or at least, that is how my mom explained it. When it's two mortals, it requires the biological actions of sex for procreation. But the wonderful thing is that, when the gods are involved, all it takes is a blessing and a little magic. My mother is still the maiden huntress whether she is called Artemis or Dianna."

Silence followed my declaration before one of the Amazons asked, "But how exactly-"

"At my mother's command, my father killed a yearling and put it on a sacrificial fire. Then, he and my mother added their blood and ichor to the fire and, presto, there I lay, a little baby boy."

Again, silence followed. Danielle looked fascinated but some of the other looked almost disgusted. Suddenly, one of the younger demigods, a girl of no more than fourteen piped up. "Do you have a belly button?"

That totally threw me off. "A what now?"

"Do you have a belly button. Do you have one?"

I resisted the urge to laugh. "Yeah, I do. Why?"

"Well why, if you were born the normal way, I'd understand but since you weren't-"

She was shushed by her comrades. I just shrugged. "I dunno. Never really thought about it. Anyhow, that's how I'm here."

After a long silence, one of them asked, "I heard you only just got to camp half blood at the end of spring. What did you do before that?"

Now that was a subject that I could warm up to. "I traveled with my sisters, the Hunters of Artemis."

"But they don't except boys."

I chuckled at the ridiculousness of my next statement. "I don't think I counted."

There was many a snicker after that. They were all good listeners as I talked about hunting and the times that I would visit my grandmother Leto or Britomartis. My grandmother would walk around with me in the mortal world. We'd go to malls and movies and amusement parks. By contrast, Britomartis and I would always get into so much trouble together. Pretty soon, I had them laughing with a story of how she and I had played a game of hide and seek for two weeks straight, only instead of simply finding me, she had stalked me and caught me in a trap.

It was well passed midnight when we all staggered back to our bunks. I fell asleep as soon as my head was on the pillow. Immediately, I fell into a dream. Thalia was looking at a map on the banquet table in one of the hunters' tents. "Where are you, my lady?" she murmured.

My heart sank and I wished I could help her. Suddenly, another hunter came running in and breathlessly said, "Thalia, we have trouble! A group of demigods came out of nowhere and attacked us. I don't know who they are but they aren't from Camp Half-blood or Camp Jupiter."

"What?" said Thalia, "that isn't even possible! Who-"

I followed in my dream and saw Thalia and her companion run out of the tent in time to see a half a dozen demigods in bronze armor with masked helmets that looked like the faces of lions. They had spears, swords and shields and were approaching in tight formation. "Who are you?" demanded Thalia as she touched her wrist band.

It expanded into her shield, Aegis. With a flick of her other wrist, her spear extended. The enemy demigods faltered at the sight of Thalia's shield. I knew what effect that shield had. It wasn't exactly like Athena's, which could petrify her enemies with the face of the Gorgon Medusa but it did cause her enemies, and even her friends, to recoil in fright. From the rear of the group came a call. "Hold."

He materialized from the shadows - a tall boy with dark hair and a scruffy face. Even with his stubble, he couldn't be any older than eighteen. "I'm warning you, Huntresses, turn back. Your mistress is in no danger. Leave her to our father and master and there need be no more bloodshed."

Thalia snorted and said, "Interesting. Allow me to counter-offer. Release lady Artemis to us or, by all the gods of Olympus, we will hunt you down and make you pay one at a time."

"So be it;" said the boy and he fell in with his fellows.

They looked as though they were ready to charge when the demigod in charge froze. After just a moment, he said, "Fall back! Leave them for the night but cover your tracks. I don't want us followed."

The hunters rushed forward but one of the enemy demigods threw something on the ground and acrid smoke filled the air. The hunters coughed and spluttered and when they breached the smoke, they found that they were alone. "We must follow the tracks!" snapped Thalia.

Putting a horn to her lips, she blew a long blast and ran back to the tent. She muttered under her breath and it folded up to a square of fabric the size of a handkerchief. Without another word, they ran off, following the trail of the mysterious demigods.

I woke to the sounds of Sherman Yang hoisting his duffel bag onto his back. With a yawn, I stood and dressed quickly, wanting to see my friends off. They were all gathered around their bus, putting their bags into the compartments beneath the passenger compartment. Hazel and Frank were hugging their friends and saying their goodbyes. I walked up, suppressing another yawn and Percy jogged over. "Hey man, good luck on your quest. If you need help, Iris message me and I'll do what I can."

He gave me a bear hug, slapping my back soundly. The others came around and did the same. Nico De Angelo frowned and said, "Are you alright, Arthur? You look like you didn't sleep too well."

I sighed and briefly recounted my dream. Immediately, the mood darkened quickly. "We'll need to discuss this as soon as we get back to Camp Half-blood;" said Annabeth.

"And we'll bring it to Reyna and before the senate;" said Frank. "Another group of demigods is big news. The fact that they are willingly attacking Diana's Hunters and have all but admitted that they know where she is kinda worries me."

I nodded. "I wish that Zeus would hurry up and give me the quest. She's already been gone for a long time now."

"That can't be helped;" said Jason. "Be patient. When the time comes, you'll be ready for it."

From the bus came a yell from Coach Hedge. "Alright! Load up, Cupcakes! Time to get back home."

Another quick round of hugs followed and the demigods of Camp Half-blood loaded up. I stood with Hazel and Frank and we watched as the bus disappeared. "We should find Reyna and- hey! Here they come. Looks like the Amazons are heading home too."

Hazel was right. The Amazons were gathered near a fleet of SUV's. Frank, Hazel and I went over and joined the Roman officers who were assembled to bid the Amazons farewell, along with not a few Roman legionnaires who were going to miss the company of the beautiful if dangerous and heavily sexist Amazons. As I stood near the group of Romans, three figures detached themselves from the Amazon group. It was Danielle, Britney and Sheena. One at a time, they hugged me. "Take care, Arty;" said Britney, batting her eyelashes. "I'd love for you to visit in Seattle."

"Yes, that would be great;" said Sheena.

"Who knows, Gargarean;" said Danielle. "Maybe we could even convince you to stay awhile."

"Convince me, huh?" I said. I knew exactly what their idea of 'convincing' me was. "We'll see. Safe travels, ladies."

When Queen Hylla looked over and considered me, I bowed and said, "Safe travels, your majesty."

"Thank you, Arthur. Take care of yourself."

She surprised me and proffered her hand. I shook it firmly and they loaded into the SUV's. As they pulled away, I noticed Frank lean over and murmur something to Reyna. She didn't respond with more than a quick nod. When the Amazon caravan was out of sight, she called over. "Arthur, come here please."

I strode over and she handed me a small scroll with a smile. Frowning, I took it and unrolled it. To my amusement and unending gratitude, I saw that it was the letter that Percy had wrote for me, with all the names signed neatly at the bottom. With a chuckle, I said, "Thank you, Reyna."

"Thank Percy Jackson. I just signed it in agreement. Apparently we have a lot to discuss. Aside from the issue of you joining the legion for your brief stay here, we also need to talk about your quest and your dream. It warrants an assembly of the full senate."

I nodded, feeling my stomach clench. I wasn't at all sure how the Roman senators were going to handle it. They already seemed to have uneasy feelings about Greek demigods in general. Being the son of a maiden goddess on top of that would definitely make me an unpopular demigod. Suddenly, a howl came from Temple Hill. All eyes turned towards and a great gray wolf stood between two of the half-constructed shrines. Everyone else stayed still but I felt a call from the wolf. She stared straight at me and sat on her haunches.

Squaring my shoulders, I went to meet her, knowing who she was. My mother had told me about the wolf goddess Lupa, how she had saved Romulus and Remus. When I reached Camp Half-blood, Jason, Percy and Frank had explained further that she lead Roman demigods to Camp Jupiter and began their training. Now she wanted to speak to me.

As I got closer to her, I realized that she was much larger than I had previously thought. Sitting on her haunches, she was a head above me and looked down with her silver eyes. I was tempted to look away but knew that, since we had locked eyes, doing so would be a sign of weakness. Showing weakness to wolves was a grave and deadly mistake. After some time, she seemed to nod and I heard her voice in my head. _At the very least, you have courage and sense, pup. I can tell just by looking at you that you have been hunting for the majority of your short life._

I nodded my head. _I am a son of Diana, the goddess of hunting. Since I was six years old, I have hunted with her attendants._

The wolf's lips curled over her fangs and a low growl sounded in her throat. _If you seek to impress me, child, then you have failed. I care nothing for the Olympians and even less for their personal followers. You have not been a part of my pack._

I stared at her, feeling my pride begin to rise. _Well then where do I sign up and how do I start?_

The curled-lipped growl turned into what could have been a smile. _You have courage and heart but you are already here. If you wish my blessing, you will need to earn it, child of the Moon._

I nodded my head resolutely. _Then I will. I'll become a member of the legion with or without your blessing._

 _We will see;_ replied Lupa before turning and loping away.


	8. Announcement

**Sooooo... I just finished '** ** _The Burning Maze'._** **Guess what that means? You got it! I get to rewrite the entire thing. YAY! Don't worry, I'll keep writing. I'll just have to start from the beginning.**


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